


Edge of the Galaxy

by Autaria



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy, Star Wars: Clone Wars (2003) - All Media Types, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Anakin will NOT stand around and let people save him, Canon-Typical Violence, First Meetings, I tried my best, M/M, Memory Loss, Mutant Powers, Non-Traditional Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Obi-Wan Kenobi is actually a powerful alien, Obi-Wan gets choked multiple times, Obi-Wan is a self-sacrificing idiot, Order 66 Never Happens, Road Trips, Saving the World, small plot twist
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-21
Updated: 2020-05-27
Packaged: 2021-03-01 19:00:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 47,901
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23771956
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Autaria/pseuds/Autaria
Summary: Anakin Skywalker finds the stranger known as Ben passed out in a bush, with no recollections of who he was and how he got there. He offers him a place to stay, nurses him back to health and feeds him - he's doing this because after all, he'd want someone to do the same for him if he was passed out in a bush, and definitely not because he finds Ben handsome.When humanoid aliens with superpowers attack him in his bedroom in the middle of the night and Ben fights them off singlehandedly, revealing his own superpowers in the process, Anakin realizes that there is a lot more to Ben than he first thought.Or: the process of two dorks falling in love over omelettes, road trips, and a quest to save the world.
Relationships: Obi-Wan Kenobi/Anakin Skywalker
Comments: 89
Kudos: 325





	1. Chapter 1

A pair of legs were sticking out from the shrub.

Anakin Skywalker skidded to a halt from where he had been jogging previously, squinting at the legs to make sure he wasn’t dreaming. And when the legs did not disappear after five seconds, he rubbed his sweaty eyes to _doubly_ make sure he wasn’t seeing things.

Nope. Legs were still there.

It would be just his luck to stumble upon a body, Anakin sighed, and he cautiously made his way over to the shrub to investigate, pulling off his Airpods and popping them back into their case. Did murders happen often in Colorado? He didn’t think so. He’d been living in the mountains cozily for five odd years and he’d never seen anything of this sort. Colorado wasn’t even on the top five most dangerous U.S. states list, last he’d checked.

There was a man, lying unconscious in the bush.  


But he was _breathing._

_Thank fuck._  


“Sir?” Anakin knelt down, grasping the man’s shoulders gently. He gave the man a once-over for injuries – there was no blood on his clothes, no fresh wounds, even though there were a few bruises and small scabs here and there – but Anakin had definitely seen worse. Great. Perhaps the man had been drinking and just passed out in the bush. He’d wake him up and be on his merry way.

The stranger groaned when Anakin shook him lightly. “Unnff.” 

“Sir?” Anakin tried again. “Sir, are you okay?”

Blue eyes fluttered open, still glazed over, and the man coughed softly. Anakin watched as the stranger blinked, confused at his surroundings, and then turned to focus his gaze on him. 

Subconsciously, Anakin recognized how handsome the man was. Royal cerulean eyes, with auburn hair and a well-kept beard – he must have been in his early thirties. Already there were small hints of crows’ feet appearing near the sides of his eyes. A small scar marred the skin just above his eyes. 

Anakin helped the man sit up, keeping one palm pressed against his back to support him. The man still appeared dazed, for the most part of it. He groaned again, bringing his hands to cradle his head, his knees bent as he tried to curl himself into a ball. If not for the distinct lack of alcohol smell, Anakin would be convinced that the man was suffering from a hangover.

“Do you need me to call an ambulance?” Anakin said, concerned.

The man uncurled himself slightly, and stared at Anakin. “What’s an ambulance?” 

_Oh, good god._ Severe memory loss. 

“Um – okay, never mind. Do you need urgent medical attention? Do you have like…” Anakin shrugged, “…uh, broken bones or something?”

The man looked down at his body, as if assessing himself. To be fair, he didn’t look that bad – thank goodness, because who would have known how long an ambulance would take to drive all the way up the mountains, anyway. “To be honest, other than this pounding headache, and the fact that my ribs hurt, everything else seems fine.”

What accent was that? It sounded faintly British, but there was a slight cadence to his voice which suggested the man did not come from England. 

“Great, great.” Anakin huffed a sigh of relief. “I have a phone – you can call someone to pick you up.” 

He fumbled for his iPhone, and handed it to the man, but the man just stared blankly at it. 

“Uh…I’m afraid I do not have anyone I know to call,” the man said. “And…I’m unfamiliar with the usage of your communication device.” 

_Okaaaay. What kind of language was that?_ The severe memory loss was real. Anakin needed to get this man to the hospital, right away. The only problem was, his car was back at home – which was approximately a four hundred meter distance away from where they currently were. And living this high up in the mountains, where his nearest neighbor was miles away, there were no passing cars he could flag down and request for a lift to the hospital.  


“I’m going to need to bring you to the hospital,” Anakin declared. “My car’s back at my house, so we’ll have to walk there – I’ll help you – uh, sorry, I don’t have your name?”  


“Ben,” the stranger said, and _okay thank fuck he still remembered his own name._ At least that was something.  


Anakin slung Ben’s right arm around his shoulders, and helped support the man into a standing position. “I live a little farther up the road – we’re going to have to walk a bit.”  


“Thank you,” Ben murmured, and the pair made their way up the windy mountain road.  


It was an excruciating journey – once Anakin had tripped on a rock and four times Ben nearly fell flat on his face – but they made it back to Anakin’s bungalow relatively intact. Anakin’s house stood overlooking the mountain, standing at a distance away from the main mountain road.  


Once he had gotten Ben inside the house and on the couch, Ben slumped into the cushions, curling back up into a ball and cradling his head once more. The golden glow of the setting sun spilling into the room illuminated the black circles ringing his eyes, and Anakin could tell the stranger he had picked up was exhausted and probably needed rest more than medical attention at the moment.  


He dashed to his kitchen, pulling open cupboards and carelessly filling up a glass with water from the tap, not caring that some water splashed on the wood flooring in the process. Grabbing a packet of aspirin from a drawer, he set himself next to Ben on the couch and pressed the glass to his lips. “Drink,” Anakin commanded.  


Ben peeked open an eye and regarded the glass of water with a wary stare.  


“You have a headache, the aspirin will help,” Anakin explained, smiling softly. “Please?”  


Ben raised his hands to cup the glass around Anakin’s hand, accepting the pill Anakin popped into his mouth and took deep gulps of the water, without stopping for breath. He must have been parched.  


“You stay there,” Anakin said, when the glass of water had been finished and Ben had resumed the fetal position. Even though it didn’t look like Ben would be going anywhere anytime soon. “I’ll make dinner.”  


Ben mumbled something unintelligible, covering his eyes from the sun’s rays.  


_What was he doing?_ Anakin ignored the thought as he bustled around in the kitchen, turning on hobs and rifling through his vegetable drawer to choose ingredients for dinner. He’d basically just let a stranger into his house – a stranger suffering from severe memory loss, albeit a very handsome stranger – and now he was going to cook for him? This reminded him vaguely of the time when his younger sister Ahsoka had come home from a college party, clearly hungover and unwilling to do anything other than gripe about her poor drinking decisions on the couch. Anakin had tended to her with aspirin and water, and then made her the greasiest omelette he could manage – and it seemed like he was about to do the same for Ben.  


He smiled at the memory. Ahsoka lived in town, a two-hour drive from his place, while he had chosen to buy a quiet house in the mountains, away from most people. _I’ll visit her next week,_ he resolved.  


The omelette wasn’t as greasy as the one he’d made Ahsoka, and he’d used olive oil instead of cooking oil – part of his new year’s resolution to be healthier – but it was food, and Anakin always prided himself on making a good omelette. He dumped it unceremoniously on a plate, and walked over to the couch were Ben hadn’t moved.  


“Hey, you need to eat something,” Anakin nudged Ben gently.  


Ben sat up straight slowly, wiping his eyes and staring at Anakin, and then looking down at the plate. “Oh.”  


“I thought greasy foods might help,” Anakin shrugged. “It’s what I eat every time I have a headache, whether it’s a hangover headache or just a headache headache.”  


Ben accepted the plate with a small smile – could he look any cuter? Good God – and nodded slightly. “Thank you – you know, I don’t even know your name…”  


“Anakin,” Anakin supplied.  


“Thank you, Anakin. You didn’t have to do all this.”  


“It’s fine. If I were lying in the bushes, I’d want someone to do this for me, too.” Anakin shrugged. “Speaking of which – how did you end up there, anyway? Do you remember?”  


Ben frowned, staring down at the plate, as if he were trying to recall something important.  


“I’m…afraid not,” he murmured after a long silence. “I do not recall much of what transpired before I lost consciousness. I only remember…vaguely _falling._ ”  


“Memory loss,” Anakin said. “I’ll bring you to the hospital tomorrow – they’ll check you up, and then we can go to the police station, and try to find someone who knows you. Maybe that’ll jog your memory. In the meantime, I do have a spare guest room that you can use.”  


“Thank you, Anakin,” Ben smiled.  


“No problem,” Anakin smiled, heart beating rabbit-fast as he realized he was the recipient of Ben’s dazzling smile. He got up and made for the kitchen to wash up, excusing himself before he could say something to embarrass himself – or even worse – try to kiss Ben. How the fuck were those lips so tantalizing? They were plump, slightly dry from god knew how long he’d been lying in that bush – and a perfect shade of kissable pink.  


Anakin swallowed, and busied himself with scrubbing the grease off his non-stick pan. He’d never felt this before. Not with Ferus, his handsome ex – and definitely not with Padme, who’d been his first girlfriend.  


When he had regained enough composure to look back at Ben, he noticed the man had finished eating and was clutching the plate very precariously close to the edge of his knees, while staring at the ground, his eyes drooping and unseeing. It was obvious he was tired.  


Anakin collected the plate and set it on the coffee table. “I think you need some sleep.”  


“That sounds wonderful,” Ben slurred, cooperating when Anakin helped him stand up unsteadily and led him to his guest room. It was slightly smaller than Anakin’s own bedroom, but Anakin had a feeling Ben wouldn’t mind as he watched Ben collapse face-first into the mattress, groaning happily at the touch of a soft bed. He was unconscious the minute his face hit the pillow.  


Anakin smiled softly, pulling the sheets over Ben and turning off the lights.  


“Good night, Ben.”


	2. Chapter 2

Anakin was startled awake from the loud crack of thunder. 

Heart beating erratically, he looked out his window at the dark clouds enveloping the mountainside view. Storms weren’t uncommon in the Colorado mountain ranges – storm nurseries, he had been told – but this one looked particularly inclement. 

Well, the news reporters _had_ warned of a huge storm approaching sometime this week that could last for more than a couple of days, which was why he had decided to go for one last jog yesterday before he’d be confined to his house all week. And he had remembered to pick up excess groceries as well, thank goodness for that – 

Something nudged the back of his mind. Something important.

In the haze of fighting the last dredges of sleep, Anakin _could not_ place his finger on what he’d forgotten – as if something important had happened yesterday and he’d…

_Ben._

He slid off the king-sized bed and stretched lazily, shuffling his feet into his cat slippers – gag gift from Ahsoka, but the joke was on her, he loved them. Padding into the guest room silently, he huffed a soft sigh of relief when he realized Ben was still unconscious – and in pretty much the same position he’d left him in yesterday – and snuffling softly in his sleep. 

It was precious. His hair was slightly tousled from occasionally shifting his head on the pillow, and his mouth was slightly open, letting out steady, warm puffs of air as he slept. _At least the circles under his eyes are gone_ , Anakin thought. He must have been truly exhausted to not have been awoken by the thunder. 

Another crack of thunder startled him out of his stupor – _watching another guy sleep? That’s creepy as fuck, Anakin_ – much softer than the first crack of thunder. Ben jerked a little at the sound, but did not open his eyes, and continued sleeping. 

At some point during the night, the blanket had shifted down to Ben’s hips and his shirt had ridden up, exposing half of his ribcage, and Anakin could now the _state_ his ribs were in. 

A large bruise peeked out from near his solar plexus, an angry shade of purple. Another smaller bruise marked the left side of his torso, and Anakin was sure he could see a third just barely hiding from under Ben’s shirt. A large semi-healed scar ran perpendicular from the lowest rib and spanned at least three rib bones, continuing under Ben’s shirt – and for the first time perhaps, Anakin noticed how Ben’s ribs were so prominent. 

_Breakfast_ , he decided, tearing his gaze away from the poor stranger. There was a strange wetness in his eyes which he’d elected to ignore. He’d make breakfast for Ben, and some coffee for him, and then maybe they could head into town before the storm started to get some medical help and…

The first drops of rain splattered violently against his window, and Anakin sighed. There would be no way they were going to be able to drive two hours into town now, with such a severe storm front. The roads leading down the mountainside were already precarious as they were. With the rain, it would be just a car-tumbling-down-the-side-of-the-mountain accident just waiting to happen. They would just have to wait it out. 

Thankfully, Anakin had some experience in first-aid. It had been useful living all alone in the mountains to find some way of tending to himself when it would take the nearest ambulance at least a few hours to get to him. He would tend to Ben’s ribs later.

 _It’ll have to do_ , Anakin shrugged. At least Ben didn’t seem like he was in urgent need of medical attention at the moment. Anakin could keep him alive for just a few days longer – surely he could manage _that_ , after all he’s kept himself alive without much help for nearly twenty-nine years already – and then they could get real medical attention.

He busied himself making breakfast – an omelette for himself and then a sandwich for Ben, stuffed with all the nutritious ingredients he could find – ham, cheese, spinach, tomatoes, two slices of his best loaf of sourdough. Hopefully, he thought, this could help to fill out the gaps between Ben’s ribs. 

_Funny._ The last time he’d cooked for someone it had been for Ferus, when he was trying to impress him. And then the string of short dates and one-night-stands after Ferus were dismal in their quality, so he hadn’t bothered.

He set the plates on the dining table and went to wake Ben up. Ben hadn’t moved at all in the last half an hour it took to cook, despite the aromas wafting into the guest room from the kitchen, so Anakin pressed a hand to his back gently, mindful of the bruises.

“Ben,” he murmured softly, just over the sound of the rain, and Ben’s eyes shot open at the sound of Anakin’s voice. 

“Good morning,” Anakin smirked, as he helped Ben sit up. “I made breakfast.” 

“Good morning, Anakin,” Ben sighed, rubbing his eyes. 

“How are you feeling?”

“Much – much better, compared to yesterday, thank you.” Ben looked up at him with those soft eyes, still slightly bleary from sleep. 

“There’s a storm which will last a few days,” Anakin said, jerking his chin to the window. Ben followed his gaze and looked out at the ominous clouds, which were basically unloading rain like tiny bullets upon the mountainside range. “We can’t get into town for medical help because the roads will be slippery AF, so we’ll just have to wait it out. The news reporter said it shouldn’t last for more than a week.”

Ben nodded, his Adam’s apple bobbing as he swallowed. “Anakin – thank you for all this – you don’t have to –”

“Nonsense,” Anakin waved him off. “Like I said, I’d want someone to do the same for me if I had severe memory loss. But, you really should go take a shower before we eat. I have a spare toothbrush in the guest room and I’ll bring you extra clothes.” 

His heart – _stop betraying me, you stupid organ!_ – began to beat rapidly again when Ben bestowed him with another of those dazzling smiles. “Thank you, Anakin. That is very kind of you.” 

Anakin made sure Ben made it into the guest bathroom before he went to pick out some spare clothes – it was amazing what one night’s worth of good sleep could do. He remembered how Ben had been too exhausted to even stand upright by himself yesterday, but in just over ten hours Ben could already make it to the shower on his own without much of a sway in his gait. 

He picked out a thick jumper – suitable for the cold, stormy weather – and a pair of old sweatpants, and laid them on the guest bed. Ben was slightly shorter and definitely leaner than Anakin, so the clothes would definitely fit, although they would be a bit baggy.

Anakin busied himself with making coffee. He’d picked up the caffeine habit when he was in college, drinking more than three cups a day on average, but it had mellowed down significantly when he’d graduated and moved to the mountains, although it had never really gone away. Now he only ever drank one cup in the morning, but it was a _crucial_ one cup and it needed to be really thick and bitter, otherwise he’d end up crashing halfway through the day. 

Ben joined him just after he’d set two cups of coffee down on the table to accompany their rapidly cooling plates of food. “That looks delicious.” 

Anakin smiled shyly. “Well, you can’t order take-out when you live in the mountains, so I learnt how to cook. I’m not great, but I like to think I’m decent.”

“That omelette yesterday was more than just decent,” Ben complimented.

 _I’d remove you if I didn’t need you,_ Anakin wanted to scold his pounding heart. 

“Well, I had a lot of practice making those,” he said out loud instead. “Ate omelettes every day in college.” 

They ate silently for the first part, the patter of the rain chasing away any trace of awkwardness, when Anakin decided that he just had to continue the conversation. 

“Well, we’re going to have to find some way to occupy ourselves for the next few days – I have work to do, but maybe I can help you find things to do to busy yourself. I know you have memory loss, but – maybe you at least remember if you have any hobbies?”

Ben frowned at his plate. After a very long while, he said, “I’m sorry, Anakin – I honestly can’t really remember much of my life before this.” 

“That’s alright,” Anakin said quickly. “I can imagine it must be frustrating.” 

“It is,” Ben twisted the corner of his mouth downward, before deciding to change the conversation. “You said you had work to do – perhaps I could help? In exchange for your hospitality and allowing me to stay here.” 

“Ah – I’m afraid it’s very niche,” Anakin smiled. “I work as a contractor doing software engineering work, remotely. It’s why I can afford to live up here in the mountains by myself, like a hermit. I just have to video-call in once a week with my clients, but the rest of the time I just code, or garden outside if it’s not raining, or tinker with the stuff in my garage.” 

Ben looked confused, as if he didn’t quite understand, but pressed on. “Why the decision to live up in the mountains by yourself?” 

“I’m a natural hermit, I guess,” Anakin shrugged. “I wanted somewhere quiet and away from people. Where I can hear myself think, you know? Let myself just work and be creative. And not have to always worry about peer pressure, or other people’s criticisms, or what they might think of me.” 

Ben must have sensed that there was something more behind those simple statements, so he just nodded sympathetically, not wanting to pry. “I understand. I have a feeling in my past life I would be able to empathize with those feelings. I’m sorry I can’t tell you much about myself or my background – there’s not much to offer in the way of conversation when you have memory loss.”

 _His accent was gorgeous,_ Anakin thought, even though he still couldn’t decide if that was British, or Scottish, or some other accent he’d never heard of. 

“We’ll find your family,” he assured Ben firmly, trying to distract the man from the frustration of the memory loss. “The minute the storm stops, we’ll be on our way to town.”

Ben smiled gratefully at him.

“In the meantime, however, I’ve got a Nintendo Switch and an Xbox, I’ll teach you how to play later,” Anakin said, standing up and clearing their empty plates. “But first, let me check your ribs.”  


He ushered Ben to the same spot on the sofa where they had been yesterday and beckoned for him to pull up his shirt. Now, standing in such close proximity to him, Anakin could really see the slight shadow of Ben’s abdominal muscles – not quite bodybuilder standard but still worth admiring, certainly – marred by all the bruises he’d seen earlier in the morning, and that long, ugly scar. 

Was that his imagination? It looked as if the scar had decreased slightly in length from when he’d seen it an hour ago.

Anakin dismissed the thought and opened the medic kit he’d stashed under his coffee table for emergency purposes. “I’m going to clean it and apply some cream over it. It shouldn’t hurt – this looks days old, but seriously – I think you were, like, mauled by a wolf.” 

Ben shrugged. “Maybe one did try to eat me while I was lying in that bush.” 

“I’m glad it didn’t,” Anakin chuckled as he deftly applied alcohol to sterilize the wound, followed by a layer of scar gel, and finally pasted a long bandage over the scar. He could hear Ben’s sharp intakes of breath a few times when his fingers strayed too near the bruises – to which he whispered soft apologies. 

“Done,” he declared. “That should hold up till the storm subsides.” 

“Thank you, Anakin,” Ben murmured, in his _glorious accent_ – seriously, _what the fuck kinda accent was that_ , Anakin _needed_ to know right now. 

Anakin was surprised that he felt a little disappointed when Ben pulled his shirt back down, and made a show of keeping the items back in the medkit, keeping his head down so Ben wouldn’t see that he was blushing. “You want to play video games now, or do you want to read? I’ve got some books, too.” 

“Oh, reading sounds lovely, Anakin,” and _what the fuck_ who the heck even spoke his name like that? Why did it sound so glorious?

Anakin was pretty sure his face was positively red right now, so he turned away from Ben and pointed to the large bookshelf dominating half his living room wall. “Pick anything you like.” 

He busied himself with the washing up from breakfast, and getting his work materials out – his small notepad to take down notes, a pen which Ahsoka had left in his house when she’d last visited, and his laptop – and then noticed that Ben had been standing at the bookshelf for quite some time now, not moving. He already had a book chosen in hand, but at the moment appeared to have his attention focused on one of the few photo frames that lined the bookshelf. 

Anakin recognized it immediately. It was a small photo of him and Ahsoka. 

Ben seemed to realize he had been caught staring, and looked at Anakin sheepishly. “Ah – sorry, I…” 

“It’s okay,” Anakin said quickly. He usually never had visitors except Ahsoka, and just wasn’t used to someone else looking at his photos. “That’s my sister. We’ve quite the age gap.”

“You’ve got the same eyes,” was all Ben said, before settling himself on the couch with the book he’d chosen. 

“I suppose we do,” Anakin replied. 

This was uncharacteristic of him. A comment like this from any other person that wasn’t Ahsoka and his hair would be standing on end. And yet, the way Ben said it, in such a cool manner – absolutely did not bother him at all. 

_Whatever,_ he dismissed, casting one last glance at Ben, who had started on _It_ , and opened his browser. Work demanded his attention.

\--- 

Anakin exited Github and closed his computer eight hours later, done for the day. He’d written about a thousand lines of code for an ongoing project, made some minor edits for code quality, and even completed his first mock-up of the UI for a new client’s project earlier than expected. A productive day, he supposed, and stretched lazily. The rain hadn’t relented – it seemed to be more violent than ever, pounding angrily against Anakin’s windows.

When he looked up, Ben was already more than halfway through the book, pursing his lips in concentration, totally immersed. 

Anakin understood. _It_ was a good book. 

He stood up and stretched his back, wincing as he heard a few pops and cracks – he was getting _old_ , for god’s sake – and made his way to where Ben was on the couch. “How’s the book?” 

“Mm? Great,” Ben said, sounded slightly startled that someone had roused him from where he had been in such deep concentration previously. “I’m at the part where the Losers meet at the Chinese restaurant, and they’re starting to remember their childhood again.” 

“Oh, you haven’t gotten to the good part yet. Let me know what you think once you’re done with it. You know, they made a film out of it – I think I bought it on Amazon Prime, we can watch it later.” 

“That sounds lovely, yes,” Ben murmured, sitting up straight when Anakin motioned for him to do so. 

“I’m going to need to check your ribs one more time before I start dinner, just to make sure nothing’s wrong,” Anakin said, as Ben lifted up his shirt once more. 

A heartbeat passed as he stared at Ben’s stomach.

_What?_

The angry bruises he’d seen this morning had faded into soft yellows, they’d shrunk significantly in size – seriously, was he losing his mind? – and when Anakin peeled back the bandage, he frowned at the smooth skin beneath it.

The scar was gone.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have exams coming up soon, so updates may be a little slower from here on out. I still intend to finish seeing this story to the end, though, don't worry :-)  
> Also, happy ending guaranteed, if any of you are worried.

The last few days had been oddly domestic. 

While the storm had not let up, Anakin found himself surprisingly not minding the presence of someone else’s company. It had been a long time since he had shared a house with someone – definitely way before he’d decided to sell his condo and buy the modern mountain home – but Ben’s presence, warm and steady, was not at all unwelcome.

Ben read. Anakin did his work. Ben helped with the washing up, and then the laundry, when Anakin had taught him how to use his fancy washing machine and the dryer. Anakin cooked. Ben learned how to use Anakin’s Nintendo Switch, and had already helped Anakin collect five gym badges in Pokémon. Anakin mucked around in the small workshop in his garage, tinkering with his latest project.

He learnt Ben had a knack for baking. He’d let Ben try his hand at cookies one night, and they had turned out glorious, and Anakin had to stop himself before he inhaled the whole tray.

He learnt that Ben was uncharacteristically neat in whatever he did. When Ben collected the clean clothes from the dryer, he folded them meticulously and stacked them in Anakin’s closet, such that there were no creases. When Ben read Anakin’s books, he never dog-eared them, never opened the paperbacks more than a ninety-degree angle to make sure there weren’t any of those ugly paper folds at the spine of the book. When Ben cleaned up, everything went back to its proper place in the kitchen, even though Anakin hadn’t told him what went where. 

He learnt Ben liked fish. Anakin had a small aquarium in his office, and whenever he wasn’t working, he could occasionally find Ben contentedly staring at his two angelfish, just watching them swimming around. 

Ben’s scabs had healed – _miraculously_ fast, was there another word for it? Neither Anakin nor Ben could explain why Ben’s skin wounds had miraculously mended themselves within hours, but Anakin wasn’t going to sweat the small stuff. He’d learnt how to ignore the small details a long time ago, when he’d first started seeing his therapist.

At any rate, Anakin thought as he watched Ben potter around the house, dusting Anakin’s bookshelf and rearranging the knickknacks on his display shelf, there definitely wouldn’t be a need to go to the hospital anymore. He’d checked Ben’s ribs a few days ago and there had been absolutely no evidence that Ben had been in a bad way when Anakin had found him. 

The circles around Ben’s eyes had disappeared, too, and – dare Anakin believe it? – the gaps between his ribs were starting to fill out, a little more.

And, today, the rain had _finally, finally_ let up.

What was this ugly feeling seizing his chest - _disappointment?_ \- as they both got into Anakin’s Mazda and began the long two hour journey into town. Anakin had been kind of hoping for the rain to last a little bit longer. The last few days had been the most peaceful he’d ever had, and once Ben found his family and remembered everything – he’d leave, and Anakin would be back to his dreary life of solitude again. 

_Stop that,_ Anakin scolded himself, shame rising up to conquer the disappointment. How could he be so selfish? Ben had a family out there, he _belonged_ somewhere. _Just because you never belonged anywhere doesn’t mean you have to drag people down with you,_ his ugly inner voice reminded him, and Anakin scowled at the road ahead of him, steering with just one wheel. 

He was right. Ben needed to remember.

Bundled up in the passenger seat beside him – in Anakin’s clothes – Ben hadn’t noticed Anakin’s sudden bad mood, instead looking out the window in fascination of the mountain scape as they drove past. “This is beautiful, Anakin.” 

“Oh,” Anakin said, “yeah. It’s one of the reasons I chose to move here, you know. Was a little costly but totally worth it to see the view every morning.” 

“I can imagine,” Ben murmured, continuing to stare dreamily out the window. 

After a few minutes on their silent drive, Ben turned to him once more. “Anakin – I truly am grateful for you doing all this for me. You didn’t even know me when you picked me up from the side of the road, and yet you sheltered me for the better part of one and a half weeks. How can I ever repay you?” 

Anakin smiled softly, shifting his glance over to Ben for a moment before focusing back on the road. “Stay in touch even after you’ve found your family, Ben. I enjoyed your friendship, these past few days.”

“Of course,” Ben smiled back, another one of his knock-Anakin’s-shoes-off dazzling smiles. “This is very odd, because I honestly can’t remember – do you think I have siblings? Or maybe even a boyfriend?” 

Anakin nearly crashed the car. _Boyfriend. He’s not straight._ “Do you vaguely remember having a significant other?”

“Honestly, no,” Ben frowned. “But I’m not sure whether it’s because I genuinely can’t seem to remember if one exists, or because deep down, I know that I really don’t have one. It feels like the latter, though.”

“When you told me your name was Ben – did it feel like the latter, too?” 

“It felt like the truth,” Ben said simply.

“I guess we’ll find out when we get there,” Anakin muttered, another ugly feeling clawing up his belly to nestle into his heart. What if they got to the police station and there was a worried, handsome model waiting for Ben? Could the ground come up and swallow him whole then?

 _Selfish,_ his inner voice hissed at him, and Anakin slumped back into the driver’s seat, not wanting to deal with his jealousy any longer.

Ben didn’t seem to notice Anakin’s bad mood, and happily chose the songs for their journey into town. Anakin realized he could add one more nugget of information to what he was learning about Ben – Ben liked _rock_ music, which was very much inconsistent with all the things Anakin had learnt about him so far. He would have likened Ben to being an old man trapped in a 30-year old’s body, judging from the way Ben did things. Who would have thought an old man liked rock music?

The rest of their drive was pretty much uneventful. They stopped at a gas station for petrol, and Anakin got him and Ben a cinnamon roll to share. Ben filled the silence with mindless chatter, which Anakin wistfully realized he was going to miss, when Ben found his family. There were several deer blocking their path occasionally, which Ben found fascinating, even though Anakin was very used to the sight after five odd years of living in the mountains. 

They made it into town just shortly past lunch, and Anakin parked outside the police station. 

When they walked in – there had been no worried family, no worried handsome model waiting in the station like Anakin had thought – but there was a uniformed girl who jumped at their arrival and threw her arms around Anakin. 

“Ahsoka!” He laughed, lifting her off the ground and spinning around. “It’s great to see you.” 

“And to you too, Skyguy. What brings you here?” She peered around him to look at Ben. “And why is he wearing your shirt?” 

“Oh, Ben, this is my sister,” Anakin clapped a hand on Ahsoka’s shoulder, grinning. “You recognize her from the picture on my mantlepiece.” 

“I’ve heard stories about you, yes,” Ben smiled warmly, shaking her hand. “We did not expect you to be on-shift today.” Anakin had regaled him with stories about how Ahsoka had just graduated the Police Officers’ Basic Course, something she’d always wanted to do since young – and now she was working her first year as a junior officer. Anakin had attended her graduation ceremony proudly.

“Ahsoka, this is Ben. I found him unconscious near my house, like, last week, I think? And he’s been staying with me – we couldn’t come down till today, there’s been awful storms up there – but he’s suffering from severe memory loss, and we were kind of hoping someone at the police station could help him trace his family.”

“That someone is me,” Ahsoka puffed up her chest. “We have a database of records of names and addresses within the state, so if you have family living in Colorado, we’ll definitely find them,” she reassured Ben. 

She returned to her original position behind the front desk, and clacked a few keys on the computer. “May I have your full name, Ben?”

“Ben Kenobi,” Ben supplied. “That’s K-E-N-O-B-I.” 

She hummed as the system processed her request. “Uh – it says there’s nobody living in Colorado with the name Ben Kenobi.” 

Anakin frowned. “What if we were to just try the surname?”

Another clacking of keys, and a minute later Ahsoka shook her head again. “No. No family – and no one, named Kenobi – lives in Colorado. Could it be possible that he’s from out of state?” 

_The mystery continues,_ Anakin thought, and looked at Ben, who looked a little lost. “We’re both not too sure ourselves, Snips – I don’t think he can remember anything from what happened before I found him in the bush.”

“Has there been anyone here looking for a missing person in the past few days?” Ben tried. 

“Definitely not,” Ahsoka crossed her arms. “I’ve been on-shift the past few days, and I tend to know everything interesting that goes on around here. If there had been a missing person, I’d know immediately.” 

“Oh,” Ben seemed to deflate, and Anakin’s heart broke a little.

“I can help you put in a missing person’s form,” Ahsoka quickly reassured Ben. “I’ll file it out to the police departments in the other states and they’ll check if they have any missing persons matching your description, and they’ll get back to us. It’ll take a while for them to get back to me, though. I’ll expect to know by around sometime next week.” 

“That sounds good,” Anakin slung an arm around Ben’s shoulders, trying to comfort him. At least there was hope. But now his heart sunk a little lower – if Ben lived out of state, keeping in touch was going to be harder once he found his family. “He’ll stay with me for the time being. Thank you, Snips.”

“Anything for my big brother,” Ahsoka winked, and pulled out a form from a drawer, filling it up. “I’ll call you the minute I get a response, Skyguy.”

Anakin peered down at the missing fields of the form. “Do you remember your social security number?” He asked Ben. 

Ben stared blankly at him. “I’m afraid not,” he murmured sheepishly. 

“That’s alright,” Ahsoka waved his apology aside. “I can leave it blank. Your age?” 

Ben looked at her, opened his mouth – and then promptly closed it. 

“Just put somewhere around early thirties,” Anakin said quickly. 

Ahsoka filled out the rest of the form quickly, and passed it to an administrator in the back room to process. “I’ll send it out by the end of today, Skyguy, you have my word on it,” she told Anakin, and then looked at Ben. “We’ll find your family for you.” 

“Thank you, Ahsoka,” Ben said. 

“Always happy to help,” Ahsoka chirped, and then walked them out of the police station after getting Anakin to promise that he’d visit her soon. 

They got into Anakin’s car. To his surprise, he wasn’t feeling disappointed at all that they hadn’t managed to find Ben’s family. The shame threatened to rise in his chest again – but the soothing, warm happiness overwhelmed the ugly feeling.

“Let’s get lunch first,” Anakin said, “and I have to buy more groceries, before we go home.” 

He glanced over at Ben, who, surprisingly, wasn’t looking too sad, either, for someone who had little luck in finding his family so far – rather, Ben seemed to be focused on a faraway point, his eyes distant, and the corners of his mouth pulled taut. 

“You okay?”

Ben kept quiet for a while, and then turned to regard Anakin with those gorgeous cerulean eyes (Anakin’s new favourite colour was definitely cerulean.) “I just…there was something funny about just now.”

“What’s wrong?” Anakin frowned. Had Ben remembered something?

“When Ahsoka asked me about my age,” Ben said, slowly. “I wanted to say four hundred and twelve.”

Anakin laughed. “Okay, you’re funny.” 

“It felt like the truth, though,” Ben murmured.

“Uh, you sure you don’t need medical attention? Maybe you hit your head harder than you thought.”

“I’m sure,” Ben straightened up. “No medical attention.”

\--- 

It was Ben’s first time at the Costco Wholesale, so he helped push the cart while Anakin threw everything they would need for another two weeks into the cart. Vegetables, canned foods, dried pasta, a sack of rice, frozen meats, cheeses, baking ingredients – Ben had been looking longingly at a pack of fruit gummies, so in that went as well. And Anakin could never resist his sweet tooth, so at least two large Cadbury bars went into the shopping cart.

They ordered subs from Quiznos for the trip back home, and ate in comfortable silence. Anakin had never felt so at ease with someone he’d only known for slightly less than two weeks. Since starting college, his hair had been on end whenever he had to make new acquaintances or whenever he met new people. He’d even been uneasy for every single one of those string of shitty dates after Ferus had dumped him, which was probably why none of them ever worked out. Another reason why he had chosen to move to the mountains.

But Ben’s presence was light, bubbly, a balm on Anakin’s usual anxious soul, and Anakin couldn’t help but feel a sense of wistful longing.

\--- 

Screaming woke him up in the middle of the night. 

His thumping footsteps brought him to the guest room, shaky fingers scrabbling for the light switch. Ben was sitting up in bed, trembling, the sheets wrapped around in a tight ball. Small beads of sweat were running down his forehead. 

“What the fuck,” Anakin managed, pressing a hand to his pounding heart. “You okay?” 

Ben looked pale, shaky, and Anakin’s heart melted even more. _Nightmare._

He led Ben into the living room, forced him to sit on the couch, and made two hot cups of cocoa. 

Ben took dainty sips of the cocoa, blowing gently at the steam that wafted up from the cup, and sighed blissfully. It was early fall, and the drink was perfect for the weather. 

“Talk to me,” Anakin sighed. 

“It was a nightmare, nothing more.” 

“Must have been one hell of a nightmare if you were screaming like someone chopped your arm off.”

Ben looked down at his drink. “They’re just dreams, Anakin.” 

Anakin raised an eyebrow. Ben gave in.

“It was a weird dream,” Ben hedged. “There was a man, with black and red skin, the colour of blood. He had horns on his forehead.” 

Anakin said nothing, silently encouraging him. 

“He was chasing me.” Ben clutched his drink tighter. “But we weren’t running, we were flying – and then he managed to knock me out of the sky and on the ground. And then there was another human – a much older one, with a white beard – he didn’t look as scary, but he definitely _felt_ scary. I could feel his aura. Malicious, evil. Like he wanted to maim me.” 

Anakin pursed his lips. 

“They were advancing on me, and I tried to fight them off, but they weren’t going to kill me, they were going to torture me.” Now Ben sounded hollow. “And I know it’s not real, now, but it definitely felt…real.”

“We’re safe here,” Anakin assured him. “I’d never let anybody harm you.”

Ben nodded firmly, but it was as if he was trying to reassure both Anakin and himself, rather than actually believing it was the truth. 

“Would you mind if I stayed up and read a little? I don’t think I could go back to sleep, after that.”

Anakin studied him. Ben’s eyes were ringed, and there was a hint of exhaustion, much like the first day when he’d picked him up from those bushes, although not quite so severe. He would still do much better with a proper night’s rest, however. 

The words were out of his mouth before he could stop himself. “You can sleep in my room tonight, if you want.” 

“I’d hate to impose, Anakin – I’m already a liability as it is…”

“Nonsense,” Anakin set his cup down and hope he didn’t sound as if he wanted to get Ben into bed with him. “You deserve a proper night’s rest. You look like shit. Anyway, my bed’s big enough so we won’t even touch each other.” 

Ben chuckled weakly. “I suppose I do. Alright, Anakin, thank you.” He allowed Anakin to lead him to bed, like a docile lamb, and within minutes of being tucked in, was already snuffling softly in his sleep.

 _This is not weird. This is not weird,_ Anakin tried to tell himself, as he collected the empty cocoa cups from the coffee table and deposited them in the sink, and turned off the lights. _I’m helping out a friend. A friend, that’s it, nothing more._

_Just because you never belonged anywhere doesn’t mean you have to drag people down with you._

Anakin slept uneasily that night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, feedback for my writing is very much appreciated! Thank you to all who have commented so far <3 I have much to learn but I hope you still enjoy the story nonetheless.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okayyy, two chapters up in a day when I'm clearly supposed to be studying for my exams, I'm screwed.  
> But anyway I hope you enjoy this one :) It might be a little bit angsty at the bottom.  
> As always thank you so much for commenting and leaving kudos <3 Constructive feedback is always welcomed!

Another few weeks passed. 

Their domestic routine continued. Ahsoka had called them a few days earlier to inform them that none of the police forces in the other states had any reported missing persons matching Ben’s profile. She’d also texted Anakin privately to tell him that at least it also meant there were no perp profiles matching Ben’s, so Ben _definitely_ couldn’t have been a criminal in his past life.

When Anakin had told Ben of the news, Ben hadn’t seemed devastated. Instead, he had quietly confessed to Anakin that it had been what he was expecting. Somewhere, deep down, he had known that he didn’t have a family. 

“Maybe you were a spy in your past life,” Anakin speculated one late afternoon, when they were raking the leaves in his backyard. Fall had settled, and Anakin’s lawn was blanketed with a layer of orange, instead of the usual green. Ben had insisted on helping him, and luckily there was an extra rake in the garage. “You know, those kinds that were stolen from their family as a child and trained to serve like, uh, the Uruk-hai.” 

“Are you implying I’m an orc, Anakin?” Ben had just finished _The Lord of the Rings_ the previous night.

“The _good_ orcs,” Anakin smirked wryly. “Or, you could be an assassin! One of those ninja types.” 

“I’m pretty sure I wasn’t a good one, then, if you found me unconscious in the bush.” 

“Or, or, a secret agent. On a mission to save the world, but you were drugged and the Men in Black wiped your mind with the Neuralyzer.” They had watched _Men In Black_ , too.

Ben hadn’t seemed too upset about losing his memory, even though from time to time he would sit back and stare into space wistfully as if he wished he had known. But when Anakin tried to talk to him about it, Ben had brushed it off. 

“It’s like starting a new life,” Ben had admitted. “I don’t know who I used to be – but it certainly couldn’t have been a good life, if there’s nobody out there looking for me. Maybe this time it’ll be better.” 

Ben had started doing odd jobs around the house for Anakin, insisting that he had to earn his keep and that he couldn’t expect to live off Anakin forever. Anakin had encouraged him to take up a hobby which he could at least turn into some kind of sustainable way of life, like carpentry, or gardening. Ben had a knack for gardening, too, resurrecting Anakin’s dead house plants and actually bringing life to the vegetable patch Anakin had long presumed was barren. 

One day Anakin had encouraged him to try his hand at woodwork, and had shown Ben a massive, fallen tree trunk behind his house. The storm had pulled the tree down recently, so the rot hadn’t set in yet – if Ben could bring it back to the house, it could serve as good material to make a book case, or a cupboard. The trunk was overtly large and there was no way they could carry it, but if they sawed the trunk up, the smaller pieces could be slowly shifted back to the garage.

Anakin had to head inside to video conference with a client, but when he had headed out an hour later, his jaw had gone slack when he’d found the entire trunk – mostly intact – laid outside the garage. 

“It’s not that heavy,” Ben had said coolly, when Anakin had found him inside the garage, cleaning his woodwork tools. 

“Are you kidding me? That had to be like five hundred fucking pounds.” He exaggerated, of course, but there was no way someone with such a lean, wiry frame like Ben could have moved pretty much the entire trunk from the forest to his garage. Maybe it would have been manageable for a bodybuilder who bench-pressed 300 lbs daily, but Ben was definitely not a bodybuilder.

It became a habit for Ben to sleep in Anakin’s bed, and there had been no nightmares since. They didn’t speak of it – Ben acted like it was normal for two friends to share a bed, and he behaved so naturally about it that Anakin was starting to believe that maybe it was, maybe he had overreacted. 

He slept more tensely, however, always keeping firmly to his side of the bed and never moving beyond that, not wanting to wake up accidentally cuddling Ben even though it sounded wonderful – but Anakin didn’t want to ruin the easy friendship that they had. Being around Ben calmed him greatly, and steered his mind away from constantly worrying about things out of his control.

They still needed distractions – both of them, one from worrying about the memory loss and one from worrying about messing up the friendship, and so one cloudy morning Anakin had told Ben to bundle up warmly and get in the car; they were going to the autumn fair. 

“What’s that?” 

“It’s like a festival of sorts,” Anakin replied, pulling on a hoodie. The temperature had dropped ever so slightly, but it wasn’t _that_ cold yet. “They hold one on the outskirts of town, every year. They have carnival games, rides for kids, and all the farmers bring their produce to sell, and sometimes they compete to see who grew the biggest pumpkin that year. I used to go every year when I was in college. It’ll be fun.”

In the past few weeks that Ben had been staying with him, Anakin had come to realize that Ben’s memory loss seemed to include a lot of mundane things like how to use the Internet, how to turn on the television, and apparently it had extended to what an autumn fair was. Surprisingly, Anakin didn’t mind explaining these trivial things to Ben. He was discovering that he had a never-ending pool of patience for Ben. Sometimes it did feel a little like he was talking to an alien who had never set foot on Earth, but he didn’t want to say that aloud in case Ben got offended.

Ben had made brownies for the drive and fed Anakin bits of brownie occasionally, making sure not to spill any crumbs on Anakin’s lap. It made Anakin want to rip out his heart from his chest and throw it out of the vehicle. 

They arrived at the fairgrounds an hour and a half later. It wasn’t too crowded, thankfully. Anakin managed to find a spot and parked. 

“Ahsoka loves the carnival games,” Anakin said, as they made their way to the main area of the fairgrounds. “She used to make me win the stuffed animals for her, when she was younger.” 

“They give you prizes when you win the games?”

“Yeah! That’s how they get people to spend money on the games, in the first place. But normally it isn’t that easy to win. They give you some cheap consolation prize if you don’t get a perfect score. The last time I tried eight years ago, I won the largest stuffed tiger for Ahsoka doing the shooting ducks game. I think I’ve definitely slipped up since then, though.” 

Anakin spotted a green wooden stall with badly-painted duck cutouts propped up on a moving conveyor belt, and he practically dragged Ben to the stall, eager to show off. The laminated sign stapled to the post of the stall indicated it was three dollars for three shots, so Anakin dropped three coins into the stall owner’s hand and picked up the Nerf gun. 

He fired two shots in rapid succession, and two adjacent duck cutouts flew off the conveyor belt. 

“Anakin, that’s amazing,” he heard Ben say with a tone filled with awe, somewhere behind him. 

The last duck went down not long after, and the stall owner reluctantly pointed to a large case filled with stuffed animals. “Take your pick.” 

Anakin gave the toys a once-over. The large stuffed rabbit looked extra cuddly. “I’ll have the bunny, please.” 

They walked away from the stall, Ben clutching the stuffed rabbit that was half his torso. “That was impeccable aim, Anakin.”

“Glad to see I still haven’t lost it,” Anakin laughed. 

“Is not keeping the prize you’ve won a tradition around here?”

“It kind of is an unspoken tradition in the U.S., I guess. Normally people win the toys for their friends or their significant others.” Anakin wasn’t really sure if that was true, but he didn’t want Ben to judge him. “It’s a little weird to win it for yourself, in my opinion.” 

“Well, Anakin, I think I have to return the favour since you’ve won me…” Ben looked at his rabbit. “Uh, I think, practically the biggest toy that stall had to offer.” 

“Oh, yeah, I want to see you try.” Anakin scanned the fairground for other games. “How’s your aim?”

Ben chose a stall not too far away. It was a simple game of throwing ping pong balls against stacks of three glass bottles from a distance. If you knocked down a stack, you could get a small stuffed monkey, but if you bowled all the stacks over you could choose anything the store had to offer. Needless to say, the distance between the throwing point and the glass bottle stacks were incredibly far. 

Anakin had never managed to get a perfect score at this stall. His aim was good, but the distance adversely impacted the power with which the ping pong balls hit the glass stacks. 

“This is one of the hardest ones, you know,” Anakin said, helping to carry Ben’s stuffed rabbit as the stall owner put three ping pong balls in Ben’s hand. 

“Are you underestimating me because I’ve never played a fairground game, Anakin?” 

“Well,” Anakin smirked. “I’m just saying, _I’ve_ never won anything from this stall.”

“What if we made a bet?” So, Ben had a competitive streak, just like Anakin. This was _amazing._ Anakin loved to compete, even for the wrong things at the wrong times – a bad habit that Ahsoka had picked up from him, too. He was beginning to wonder if he had found his soulmate in that bush instead of a stranger named Ben. 

“Oh, you’re on. What’re we betting on?”

Ben’s cerulean eyes twinkled at Anakin. “Whether or not I can get a perfect score.” 

Anakin gaped. “You do realize what that means, right? You’d have to knock over all three stacks.”

Ben nodded, looking haughtily at Anakin. “Don’t believe I can do it?”

Anakin laughed out loud. “Alright, then. If you managed to get a perfect score, you have my everlasting respect and admiration.” 

“That certainly sounds like something worth winning,” Ben joked, and lined up his aim. The teenage boy tending the stall leaned against one of the four-corner posts of his stall, chewing gum lazily and watching Ben. 

The first ping pong ball impacted the bottom right bottle of the first stack of glass bottles. It was launched with such speed that the glass bottle shattered upon impact, and the other two bottles flew off in different directions. The impact was so great that the glass shards embedded themselves in the wooden panels of the stand. 

And then, before Anakin had any time to react, the second ping pong ball hit the bottom left bottle of the second stack, which also promptly exploded into flying shards of glass. The last ping pong ball also made quick work of the last stack in a similar manner. 

Anakin’s jaw dropped. He was pretty sure the stall owner was mirroring his impression of a goldfish. 

“What the _fuck_ , man,” he managed.

Ben looked a little alarmed. “Oh – was that bad? I’m terribly sorry, I didn’t mean to break the bottles –”

“No, no, I meant, that was _amazing,_ Ben,” Anakin began to laugh. “I’ve never seen – oh my _god,_ my everlasting respect and admiration isn’t even worth what you just did. That was incredible, what the fuck.” 

Ben chose a stuffed dragon, which the trembling stall owner promptly handed over. Anakin returned Ben his rabbit and hugged his new stuffed dragon. 

“You know,” he said casually as they made their way to where the food stalls were, “I think you’ve just confirmed my secret agent spy theory.”

\--- 

Fairground food was greasy and incredibly sinful, but it had been years since Anakin had last visited the autumn fair and he was going to _treat himself,_ damn it. To hell with looking good, he could always work out tomorrow. He and Ben had shared a triple cheeseburger doughnut, corn dogs, and a mound of cheese fries so far, and were currently stuffing their faces with deep fried Oreos.

Well. Anakin did most of the eating. Ben had eaten only about a third of all the food. But Ben usually didn’t eat as much as Anakin did, anyway.

“I can’t believe you still have room for _more_ dessert, Anakin,” Ben groaned, clutching at his stomach as he watched Anakin order a cheesecake on a stick. “I’m so full.”

“I did a full hour of abs exercises this morning, I one hundred percent deserve these,” Anakin replied. He’d put a lot of work into maintaining a good body, running almost every day, doing HIIT and core in the evenings, and eating clean as much as possible, but junk food (like Ben’s cookies, oh god they were so moist and chocolatey) were definitely his Achilles’ Heel. Thankfully fair food was only served once a year, otherwise he wouldn’t be able to find his abs. 

“Well, if it isn’t _Anakin Skywalker._ ”

Anakin looked up. He recognized that voice very well. 

“Granta Omega,” he snarled.

A tall, handsome young man, about the same height and age as Anakin himself, stood a few meters away from them. His blue eyes gleamed, the same colour as Ben’s eyes – though not exactly the same shade, but it rubbed off the totally wrong way on Anakin. They had dated, way before Ferus, but it had gotten toxic very fast, and Anakin had _noped_ out of that relationship the second he got the chance.

The air around him got very cold, very quickly.

Ben raised an eyebrow and moved closer to Anakin, somehow sensing that the newcomer was a threat, but not a hundred percent sure of the situation yet.

“It’s been a long time, Anakin Skywalker,” Granta smirked. 

Well. There was just one of the many people who said his name so repugnantly that it made his hair stand on end.

“It certainly has,” Anakin grit out. He wanted to take Ben’s hand and run. 

“I see you’ve got yourself a new arm candy,” Granta leered, his eyes now focused on Ben. Anakin moved to block Ben from his sight, which prompted a wicked chortle from Granta. “Pretty, too. Where did you get him? I wouldn’t mind one of my own.”

“Stay away from him,” Anakin spat. 

Granta laughed, shoving his hands into the pockets of his expensive trousers. “Protective of your boyfriend, aren’t we, Skywalker?”

“He’s not my boyfriend,” Anakin said reflexively – but it proved to be the wrong statement, for Granta’s eyes only widened in delight, and now they glimmered with a new mischief. 

“Not your boyfriend! Well, if he isn’t taken, I’ll be happy to take him for myself. What do you say, sweet cheeks –”

“He doesn’t belong to anybody, Granta, now _get lost._ ” There was an underlying threat there. Anakin cast a sideways glance at Ben, whose face was pale, looking slightly fearful and also remotely queasy.

Granta swept Ben one last gaze and blew a lazy kiss. “Well, if you get tired of him, sweet lips, come find me. The name’s Granta Omega. I’ll show you a much better time than whatever Skyslut here’s been showing you so far.”

That was _it._ Anakin was going to close the distance between them and punch the everliving daylights out of Granta, but Ben’s firm hand closed around his wrist, immobilizing him. Granta laughed, turned his back and waved a lazy two-fingered salute. “See you around, Skyslut.” 

Anakin watched Granta saunter away, out of sight. 

_Please, never let me see this fuckface ever again._

“Are you okay?” Ben’s concerned voice brought him out of his haze of anger, and Anakin realized Ben was still holding his hand, giving Anakin support. He immediately deflated.

“I’m fine. Let’s – let’s go.” It was getting late anyway, and they’d already seen most of what the carnival had to offer. 

Anakin led the way to the car, still fuming, while Ben trailed behind him silently. When they got in, Ben put a hand on the steering wheel, blocking Anakin’s access to it. “Anakin.” 

Anakin glared at him. 

“I know you don’t want to talk about it,” Ben said calmly. “But it isn’t good to drive while you’re angry, Anakin, and I can feel that you’re pent up inside. You can rant to me.” He waited for Anakin to take a deep breath. “Tell me, what was that back there?”

“I'm not really in the mood to say, Ben.”

“Well, that’s hardly fair. I shared with you my irrational dreams last time. You’ll have to share with me whatever’s bothering you this time.”

Fine. So Ben was also as persistent and stubborn as Anakin. He’d really met his match. How was this man not his soulmate? Anakin regretted deflecting Granta’s assumption just now.

But then Ben put a hand on Anakin’s forearm, and it was incredibly calming, and Anakin felt all the anger drain out of his body when Ben regarded him with that kind, concerned look that he had come to know so well.

“His name’s Granta Omega,” Anakin began with a weary sigh. “I dated him for a while before I moved out of town. He was…screwed up. It wasn’t so bad at the start, so I tolerated a lot of things even as he got worse and worse, but it was a complete shitstorm a few months later so I had to leave. He’s possessive, of all things; he wouldn’t let me talk to my own neighbor because he’d thought I’d cheat on him with a _fifty-year old_ man.”

Ben frowned, but declined to comment. 

“I tolerated that shit for a year, Ben. I don’t know what made me stick around for so long. He was verbally and physically abusive too, you saw how he called me names just now. And he liked to make me question myself, or make me feel bad about myself – he was very good at guilt-tripping me and manipulating me to get his way, whether it was sex or something else. I was pretty much depressed the entire time I was with him. He’s literally the cause of all my anxiety problems, and the reason why I had to start seeing a therapist.” 

“Oh, Anakin.”

“I blocked him on all my apps, moved houses, tried to get a restraining order – even though he didn’t abuse me enough for the police to think me deserving of a court case – but he kept following me, sending me threatening messages one day and then sending me expensive gifts the next, trying to get me to come back into his bed. Only when I got a new boyfriend did he finally leave me alone.” 

Ben rubbed his forearm sympathetically. 

“I don’t see him for about eight years and I think all’s good, he must have left town or something, but no, he’s still here,” Anakin spat, his eyes starting to prickle. “Ruining my day.” 

“Oh, Anakin, I truly am sorry,” Ben murmured, and even though Anakin hated pity of any kind, _hated_ sympathy of any kind, Ben’s voice had a significant calming effect, soothing his raw nerves and levelling his heartbeat. He let out a shaky breath, not knowing that he had been so tensed up previously. 

“Anakin,” Ben said again, and when Anakin turned to look at Ben, he was surprised how wet Ben’s eyes were. “You didn’t deserve any of what happened to you. I – I certainly don’t have anything to say that can make you feel better, but I hope you know that by now, I consider you my friend – and I hope you consider me your friend, too – and I know you don’t want pity, but please remember I am here for you to share your troubles with.”

There was nothing other than pure, raw genuinity in Ben’s words, and Anakin’s heart lightened. 

“Thank you, Ben. I consider you my friend too.” 

“Let me make hot chocolate for you when we get home,” Ben said, and Anakin definitely _did not_ miss the fact that Ben had said the word ‘home’. 

“Why are you looking at me like that? I promise I won’t burn down your kitchen.”

Oh, he had been staring. Anakin averted his gaze, smiling. “All right. Thank you, Ben.” 

“I just have one question, though – what does _arm candy_ mean?”

Anakin had never wanted to kiss somebody more.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooo, another chapter up! I'm sorry if my writing sounds weird, I tried my best. I've never written an awkward confession scene before. 
> 
> As always, constructive comments on my writing are very much appreciated since I'm just getting back into it. Thank you so much <3

It was raining again. 

Not as heavily as the storm that had confined Anakin and Ben indoors for the better part of one and a half weeks, thankfully, but still heavy enough for Anakin to exercise extreme caution when driving up the mountain roads to get home.

It was cold outside, but nothing compared to the icy chill that seized Anakin’s heart.

It was Shmi Skywalker’s death anniversary, and Anakin had woken up at the crack of dawn to drive into town to meet Ahsoka. They’d went to the florist to get fresh flowers, and then driven to the cemetery to visit Shmi’s resting place. 

Maybe it would have hurt less if she hadn’t been taken abruptly, but it had been over ten years and it had never stopped hurting. Without fail, the week of Shmi Skywalker’s death was the worst week of every year, where Anakin went into isolation for the whole week, bundling himself in bed and just eating ice cream. Ahsoka only fared slightly better.

They arranged the bouquet on her headstone, said a few words, shed a few tears, and left. Ahsoka, knowing how her brother usually coped with Shmi’s death anniversary, had forced him to get lunch with her before he drove back up the mountain. 

They chose a small restaurant near Ahsoka’s apartment. Anakin honestly wasn’t feeling hungry – but Ahsoka had still forced him to get something, glaring at him when he opened the menu and immediately started flipping to the dessert section. 

“Ben told me about how the both of you went to Costco last week and you got seven pints of B&J,” Ahsoka frowned. She had begun regularly texting Ben when Anakin had lent Ben his old iPhone – at first it had been just to ask how Anakin was doing, but then they had struck up an easy friendship when they discovered that both Pokémon and Star Trek were mutual interests. “Apparently they were all the same flavor, too. Don’t think I don’t know what you plan to do the minute you reach home.” 

Anakin rolled his eyes. “Honestly, Snips – I think I’m in a much better place than I was around this time last year.” 

Ahsoka raised an eyebrow. 

“Having Ben helps,” he admitted, feeling the blood rush to his cheeks and desperately hoping Ahsoka wouldn’t notice. 

She did, anyway. What kind of police officer would she be if she didn’t? “You know, Skyguy, I’m starting to get the feeling you aren’t telling me something.” She was smiling wickedly, and _damn her_ Ahsoka was too perceptive for her own good, especially around her own brother. 

“I like him, Ahsoka,” Anakin had confessed, seeing no point in lying to his own sister. “I like him, a lot.”

“I figured,” Ahsoka wriggled her eyebrows, setting her elbows on the table as if Anakin was going to dish some good gossip.

“He’s…different from anyone else I’ve ever met. He’s not like Ferus, oh and _thank fuck_ he’s not like Granta. He follows the same routine every day, but it isn’t predictable or boring to me – it’s like he’s a rock, steady and tethering me to the ground and preventing me from spiraling because I know that whatever happens, he’s there in my kitchen, baking cookies, or in my garden, tending to the cabbages. He’s…I don’t know how to express it, but being around him calms me down. And have you heard the way he says my name? It’s like I mean something to him. He says my name as if I’m something precious.” And that was the difference between Ben and all the other suitors he’d had previously. Nobody had been as kind, nor as genuine, as Ben had.

“Well,” Ahsoka drawled. “I think you’ve got your work cut out for you, huh?”

“What? What d’you mean?”

Ahsoka had only given him one of her signature cryptic eye arches – the kind she did when she was hiding something from him. “Go talk to him, Skyguy.” 

Anakin frowned. “Snips, what aren’t you telling me?” He watched as her grin widened, and then punched her lightly in the arm. “Have you been talking to him? What did he say?”

Ahsoka feigned offense. “I don’t hide things from my big brother.” 

So, the little brat was _lying_. Ben had said something to her, but she wouldn’t tell him.

“Seriously, go talk to him yourself, Skyguy. Buy him a bouquet from the florist later. Let him know how you really feel.” Ahsoka winked at him. “Trust me. When has your little sister ever led you astray?”

“Oh, wow, where do I start,” Anakin said sarcastically. “How about the time you made me get lost in the woods when we were young, and it took the whole police force five hours to find us? Or what about the time you dragged me to that strip club thinking it was a swanky bar? Or the time you made me break into one of your professors’ house because you thought he was dodgy and we nearly got caught and thrown into jail? Or how about –”

“Okay, okay, shut up, Skyguy, you know what I mean,” Ahsoka rolled her eyes, slapping him on the shoulder.

He did feel better after lunch – he felt like he could actually keep to his promise of not going home and emptying four pints of ice cream this time. He wouldn’t want Ben to judge him, after all. 

But as he drove the way up the mountain, alone with his thoughts, he could feel himself slipping back into the mental hole he had been in this morning when he’d seen his mother’s headstone after so long. By the time he saw the outline of his house in the fading sunlight, he had already mentally prepared himself for a night of sitting on the couch, mindlessly watching bad movies, and eating ice cream.

Ahsoka had been so excited when he’d confessed his feelings about Ben, and had insisted they visit the florist one more time after lunch, practically strong-arming him into choosing a cheery sunflower for Ben. The sunflower lay in the passenger seat, and Anakin continued staring at it for a while even after he killed the engine. He had promised her that he would talk to Ben, but now, looking at the sunflower in the dying light of the sun, and with thoughts of his deceased mother swirling about in his mind – he wasn’t sure if he had what it took to confess to Ben tonight. 

Maybe tomorrow, or the day after, when he was feeling up to it. If the sunflower wilted, he could always drive back into town to get another. 

He looked at the house and savoured the fact that for the first time, he wasn’t coming home to an empty, dark house. The porch lights were on, as usual, but so were the lights in the living room. He could see Ben’s faint silhouette moving around in his kitchen, and there was the aroma of something delicious wafting out of the open window and assaulting his olfactory nerves.

It had been approximately three months. 

Two months since he’d brought Ben to the fair, and another month altogether since he’d found Ben lying unconscious in that mountainside shrub. 

It had been three glorious months of living with Ben, and Anakin was always constantly dreading the day that Ben would have to leave. One day, he would wake up and remember who he was, and where he belonged, and then he would have to depart, leaving Anakin all alone in the mountains. 

Anakin had tried to make peace with it. He had tried not to get so attached to Ben, but it was impossible. The more time he spent around Ben, the more he wanted to bundle Ben up in thick woolen blankets and keep him in his pocket for easy access wherever he went. 

He tried not to think about the inevitability of Ben leaving him as he let himself in the house. 

“Anakin!” A cheery voice greeted him from behind the kitchen counter. There was the soft sound of something sizzling in a pan – had Ben made dinner? Ben normally didn’t cook, he usually just baked – Anakin usually did the cooking – but whatever, it smelled delicious, and Anakin had been in no mood to cook dinner tonight, anyway. Now that Ben had cooked, there was no excuse for him to spend the rest of the evening on the couch eating ice cream for dinner. 

“Ben,” he smiled warmly – even after the depressing day he’d had, Ben was still able to coax a genuine smile out of him without even trying.

“I made dinner, I hope you don’t mind,” Ben said, setting a glass dish of – was that _ratatouille?_ \- on Anakin’s oak dining table. Anakin never had ratatouille in his life. “I know you usually do the cooking, but I just thought maybe I’d give it a shot today, to give you a break.” 

Anakin’s heart melted. “It smells wonderful.” 

“Well, the recipe’s from one of your cookbooks. Nothing original.” 

Anakin watched as Ben bustled around the kitchen, swiping a bottle of vodka off his alcohol display table and sank into one of the dining room chairs, too utterly exhausted to do anything else. Even though he made decent money as a renowned software engineer, Anakin had never really grown into the taste of expensive liquor – the cheaper the better, especially when he’d been having a hard day. He poured himself nearly a half old-fashioned glass of alcohol, and took a long sip, savouring the burn of the liquor as it slid down his throat. 

Ben set a small plate of potato wedges on the table, and then took the chair beside Anakin. “Tough day?” He enquired, eyeing the liquor. 

“You would imagine,” Anakin grunted, taking another long sip.

“Well,” Ben’s hand held Anakin’s wrist lightly, preventing him from taking another sip – “Maybe you would feel better after you’ve eaten something solid, Anakin. I did make all this food for you, you know.” 

Anakin sighed, but gave in. “You’re awfully persuasive, you know. Where do you pick that up from?”

“Natural charisma,” Ben smirked, and they dug in. 

Anakin hadn’t eaten much the whole day – Ahsoka had finished most of his lunch for him – and hadn’t realized how starved he was. Twenty minutes later, two-thirds of the pan was perfectly polished off, and Ben headed into the kitchen to keep the leftovers. By the time Ben had returned to the dining table, Anakin had already chugged down another fourth of the bottle of vodka. 

He wasn’t an alcoholic, by any means. Anakin was actually repulsed by the taste of alcohol, often insisting it tasted like nail polish, and he would never understand how rich people drank so much. But there were days when the effects of alcohol themselves were needed – much like today – and so he had always kept a small shelf of alcohol within reach for times like these.

“Anakin.”

By now some of the effects of the liquor had set in, and Anakin was tipsy, but not drunk. Would now be the perfect time to confess his feelings for Ben? He looked down at his empty glass. Liquid courage.

He watched as Ben resealed and kept the bottle of vodka back on the shelf where it belonged, turning to give Anakin a small frown of disapproval.

What the heck, even then he was cute. 

“Would you like to talk about it?” Ben’s words were nothing but kind as he took a chair next to Anakin, keeping his hands on his lap. Anakin hadn’t told Ben anything about today – he hadn’t been sure if he would be a hundred percent comfortable with telling Ben – when he’d left earlier, he’d mumbled some excuse about visiting Ahsoka. 

Shmi Skywalker’s death was not something he’d ever talked to other people about. In fact, the only person who he’d ever deigned to discuss her death with had been Ahsoka. He’d avoided mentioning it on any of his dates; not even Ferus knew. Was he really going to discuss it with Ben? Maybe if he’d been completely sober, he would have declined, but right now the vodka was working its way through his bloodstream and it felt _good._ It made the decision a little easier for him. 

“It’s my mom’s death anniversary,” he began, and then the floodgates opened. As he talked, Ben refrained from commenting, simply sitting attentively to Anakin’s left, ever so often keeping an eye on the vodka glass.

So Anakin talked, and Ben listened. And it surprised Anakin that he hadn’t cried at all since he’d started talking, even though his heart felt like it had been stabbed multiple times. He was emotionally exhausted, and had run out of tears already.

“She was gone very suddenly,” he found himself saying, relieving that day ten years ago. “And under very weird circumstances. We didn’t get any closure, nothing of the sort. She went away for a business trip. It was only supposed to be a few days. She travelled often, but she always came back, so we didn’t think this was any different. But she said she’d come home in one or two weeks’ time, and we believed her. So Ahsoka and I stayed home and continued on with our lives.

“But then nearly two weeks later, we got a call from the police from somewhere in Washington, Seattle, I think. Her remains had been discovered there. And they weren’t…” his voice faltered, but he forced himself to continue, to purge himself of all the dark emotions that were threatening to swallow him whole. “She’d been in a fight, or something. Very violent. Her remains weren’t intact; she’d suffered a lot of injuries. They said she was almost unrecognizable. But they didn’t think it was a mugging, or even rape. There were no signs of intrusion on the lower parts of her body, and all her valuables were untouched.” 

He was barely aware of Ben pressing a comforting hand to his shoulder.

“They never found out who it was, Ben. When I went to Seattle to collect her body, I tried to investigate myself, but it never amounted to anything. And she was the only one. There weren’t any string of victims murdered in the same manner, so the police never suspected a serial killer. And today might not even be her real death anniversary, you know. It’s just the day they found her body.” 

“Oh, Anakin.” That breathy little sigh he’d come to be so familiar with. 

Anakin stared dully ahead, unlooking, focused on some obscure point near his television. He could feel the effects of how fast he’d downed the vodka setting in, and the filter between his brain and his mouth eroded a little bit more. “She didn’t deserve it. She was one of the kindest people I’ve ever known. But you know what? Karma doesn’t exist. I guess that’s why whatever bastard left her to die in the drain never got caught.” 

Ben hummed. “Did the people around you at the time – your friends – give you support?” 

Anakin snorted. “No. It made me realize I didn’t have any. They were so preoccupied with starting college – drinking, parties – they didn’t care about me.”

It felt odd, saying all this. He’d never verbally expressed his thoughts about the suddenness of Shmi’s death that left a gaping hole in his life to anybody else, not even to Ahsoka – they were close, but each had their own ways of dealing with the loss. Ahsoka was definitely stronger than he was – she’d quickly pulled herself together and released the emotions, but Anakin had never fully learned to let go. 

And Ben! Here he found himself wondering – for the nine hundredth time – how it was possible that there were so many things he was willing to tell Ben that he had never ever told another single living soul. He’d known the man three months, and here he was pouring his heart out. And what was more – Ben listened! He’d sat attentively by Anakin’s side and taken it all in, without offering much of his own opinion, just listening. 

Anakin instantly felt selfish. Yes, he’d lost someone – but who knew what Ben had lost himself? Ben couldn’t even remember. Wasn’t that worse? Yes, the death of Shmi Skywalker had plagued Anakin for years, but he couldn’t even imagine forgetting that his mother had ever existed and just continuing on with his life – to forget that such a wonderful woman had given life to him and brought him up on her own, would be _devastating._

“But it doesn’t hurt, Anakin,” Ben said, and _oh shit_ Anakin had _not_ realized that he’d been monologuing the last part of his thoughts. 

“I certainly don’t remember anybody from my past life – but perhaps it’s a small mercy, if I did suffer a loss as grave as yours,” Ben smiled sadly. “Either way – you shouldn’t compare grief, Anakin. It’s a tricky enough emotion to deal with as it is. You are clearly suffering; nobody should have the right to belittle you by saying they’ve lost more.” 

Ben, always the voice of logic and reason. Anakin swallowed. “Thank you. For listening.” 

“Always, Anakin. You are my friend. That’s what friends do.” 

_Friends,_ Anakin thought sadly. 

Before he could spiral down another pit of despair, stewing in the thought that one day Ben would pack up and leave when he remembered everything, there was a small touch to his elbow. He looked up, watching Ben smile softly. 

“Ahsoka said you had something to tell me. I figured this was it.”

Anakin blinked, momentarily too stunned to stew in any negative thoughts. 

_That little –_

“I can’t believe you’ve been talking to her.”

Okay, okay. He knew what was going on. Ahsoka had meant that Anakin had his feelings to confess to Ben, but Ben was mistaking this for Anakin telling him that it was Shmi’s death anniversary.

“It’s been happening for a while now.” Ben’s smile was still soft, not suspecting anything, and Anakin could feel the blush on his cheeks. He ducked his head, but Ben didn’t notice, still maintaining a firm grasp on his shoulder. “Like I said before, Anakin – I’m always here for you to share your troubles with.” 

When had Ben gotten so close? He was standing close enough for Anakin to see the familiar sparkle in his eyes, even though they were now tinged with a hint of concern for him. He was close enough for Anakin to smell him, _Jesus Christ,_ and over the months Anakin had learned that Ben always smelled faintly of flowers and sandalwood. His lips – something which Anakin had pointedly refused to look at directly – were directly in his line of sight, and perfectly rose pink. 

Later, Anakin would reflect that maybe he did it because he was drunk. Maybe he did it because he was mentally exhausted, and unable to think straight. Or maybe he did it because he had been waxing and waning mental poetry about Ben for too long already.

He leaned in and kissed Ben.

\--- 

Ben kissed back.

It was _glorious_ , like finally drinking water after spending days stranded in the desert. Or the first bite of food after being starved for months. It was something he had never known he had needed and _craved,_ but now that he had it everything else would forever be spoiled for him. Ben’s lips were soft and moist and tasted faintly of coffee. It was as if the calming aura Ben projected was being transferred to him – through their mouths – and working its magic through his system. Anakin could feel his heartbeat levelling and all the negative thoughts drain out of his mind. 

But then Ben was pushing him back - _oh, fuck, it’s too soon_ \- albeit gently, and all the ugly emotions began swirling back into Anakin’s mind again. 

“Anakin, Anakin,” Ben said, but Anakin could hardly have heard it over the _you fucking idiot he doesn’t like you_ that _way_ , and _why’d you have to go ruin it like you do with everything in your life?_

“I’m sorry!” Anakin blurted out, clapping a hand to his mouth. “I didn’t mean it – I’m sorry – what kind of idiot does that – oh, good glorious _fuck_ I’m so sorry – I totally understand if you want to leave –”

“Anakin, calm down.” Ben held his hands firmly before Anakin could give in to his instincts and bolt for his bedroom. “Anakin, listen to me, you’re emotionally exhausted and seeking any comfort you can find right now. In the morning you may think this all a mistake –”

“It’s not,” Anakin said, hotly. “It’s not a mistake, okay, Ben? I’ve been wanting to do that for a long time now. I’ve been wanting to do it the day since the fair, okay? I’ve thought long and hard about it. But I’ve done it under the worst possible circumstances and ruined a potentially beautiful friendship even though I told myself not to do anything funny when I first picked you up, and now you’re going to want to leave –”

“Anakin, I like you too.” 

_Wait, what?_

A long pregnant pause as Ben’s words sunk in. And then, “You…want to run that by me again?”

“I like you too, Anakin. I’ve liked you for a while now.” Ben squeezed Anakin’s hands gently. “So – I wasn’t expecting to tell you this now, but I suppose since we’re on the topic…”

“But this isn’t right, Ben. You don’t have anywhere else to go for now – and I don’t want you to say things you don’t mean, just because you’ll think I’ll turn you out, or because you think things’ll get awkward if you say you don’t want me in the way that I want you. And – and I don’t want you to think I picked you up from that bush because I was attracted to you, or because I wanted to, _I don’t know,_ take my time to seduce you into my bed or something. And also I didn’t invite you to sleep in my bed because I was being a creep, okay? I swear I had no such thoughts, if you’re not interested then so be it –”

“Anakin.” Another squeeze of his hands again. “I’m not saying it because I’m afraid you’ll kick me out of the house, or whatever other hidden agenda you think I may harbor. I’m saying it because it’s true.” 

Oh. 

What?

Anakin felt like a deer in the headlights. 

“Anakin – I know you’re hurting deeply from the events of today. But I think we should resolve this conversation before you get any more wrong ideas or before you overthink the situation. This attraction and respect is mutual. What we have is very healthy, Anakin. In my three months here, I’ve never once felt forced to do something I didn’t like, and I’ve never once felt that my privacy was being invaded. You gave me both the space and solution I needed to face my nightmares. This isn’t some kind of Stockholm syndrome situation, in case you’re worried.” 

Anakin frowned, not trusting himself to speak just yet. 

“And in case you still doubt yourself – your fear of driving me away and your act of compressing your desires, aren’t they proof that you aren’t taking advantage of me?”

“I guess,” Anakin said, still looking very glum. 

“Anakin, I like you. And – and maybe now isn’t the perfect time for it, because I know you’re still hurting, but maybe we could take things slow.” 

That wasn't a rejection. In fact...was Ben - _propositioning_ him?

“Yes,” Anakin blurted out before he could stop himself. There was never any doubt to answering that question, now that Ben had made his feelings clear. This felt like the most natural thing in the world. “Yes, I’d like that.”

Ben smiled, a toothy grin, and that was just about the end of Anakin’s self-control. He leapt into Ben’s arms, hugging, squeezing the man, his heart singing. 

_Thank fuck thank fuck thank fuck._

He could hear Ben laughing softly, smell the familiar floral and sandalwood on him, feel the solid weight of the amazing person in his arms, and for the first time that day, the world was right.

\---

The silhouette standing on the edge of the cliff had golden eyes.

He stood in a contemplative pose, arms behind his back, quietly taking in the bright city night lights. The cold autumn wind howled around the silhouette, but the silhouette didn’t seem to even flinch. 

“My Lord. Kenobi’s ion trail has disappeared.” A voice came from behind the silhouette, and he turned slightly, his black and red face barely illuminated in the dim moonlight. The horns on his forehead glinted dangerously.

“It’s very faint, my Lord, and it’s over three months old. The trail stops here, and has all but vanished. He could be anywhere by now.” 

“He won’t be,” the silhouette with the golden eyes assured his subordinate. “I am sure of it. Get me Darth Sidious.” 

As the subordinate scurried off to do his master’s bidding, the silhouette turned back to the cliff, his eyes flitting the city landscape searchingly. 

He could feel it. Kenobi was close. 

Darth Maul would stop at nothing to carve the man in two.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Our road trip finally begins! Apologies for putting this up so late, I've been busy with submissions and exams.  
> To everybody who has commented, thank you so much, I truly enjoy reading your comments :) Feedback is always appreciated!

The last few weeks had been the best that Anakin had ever had. 

Since Ben had admitted that he was equally as attracted to Anakin, it was as if a great stone had been dislodged from Anakin’s windpipe. Being with Ben felt as natural as breathing – a completely different feeling from his past serious relationships – and of course Anakin didn’t believe in stupid things like _soulmates,_ but he had been riding the new-relationship high and was not about to argue if somebody were to point it out. For fuck’s sake, he’d been in _tons_ of serious relationships before – but this one with Ben felt _different._

The sun now shone more brightly. The wind was sharper, but more welcome. The falling leaves in his backyard were a glorious shade of orange and brown, giving his backyard _winter personality,_ and were no longer just a nuisance to rake into a pile. It was as if someone had given Anakin fresh lenses that provided a filter to enhance the beauty of everything he laid eyes on.

Being with _Ben_ made the little pleasures in life more obvious. 

One of Anakin’s favourite perks of being in a relationship was that he could now snuggle Ben any time he liked, a perk which he made sure he exploited at every opportunity. Not that Ben seemed to mind, of course. 

“It seems like we’re doing everything backwards, you know,” Anakin had joked one night, when it had been particularly cold after raining all day, and the two men were curled up in bed around each other. “Moving in together, then sleeping together, and then kissing.” 

“Well, the normal way is kind of boring, that’s why we don’t do normal,” Ben quipped, and Anakin burrowed his nose into the warm juncture of his neck, sighing contentedly. “After all, you did pick me up from a bush.” 

They baked together, went on picnics in the woods behind the house. Even the smallest of tasks had now become opportunities for them to spend time together. Raking the fallen leaves in the backyard had turned into mini-sword fight sessions with the rakes in between – which, for some reason, resulted in Ben emerging as the winner most of the time. Ben had cajoled Anakin into helping him plant pumpkin seeds, and they placed bets on whose side of the garden would the biggest pumpkin grow. Even when playing video games, it was domestic. Ben had discovered that Anakin’s lap was a comfortable substitute for a pillow, and they remained in that position for a whole afternoon playing Pokémon Sun and Moon.

Ahsoka had come over once to visit, and they’d spent the entire day playing board games. She had kept her smug smile on the entire time, watching Anakin wrap a possessive arm around Ben’s waist whenever he got the opportunity, and Anakin knew that she was never going to let him live it down. 

The realization struck Anakin halfway as they were lazing on the couch one lazy Sunday, watching Netflix. Ben was curled up in his lap, riveted by the penguin documentary Anakin had put on, unaware that there was another pair of eyes watching the late afternoon sun illuminate his features softly.

“I love you,” Anakin admitted, and Ben stared at him. “I mean it.” 

Ben looked taken aback for a moment, before his features resolved into calm, acceptance, unbridled joy, and Anakin’s brain was very suddenly short-circuited as Ben pulled him closer to get their lips reacquainted.

“I love you too, Anakin,” Ben replied in between kisses, in that impossibly rich accent of his.

Needless to say, they had spent the rest of the afternoon very certainly _not_ watching Netflix.

\---

Ben couldn’t sleep.

He wasn’t sure why. The last week with Anakin had proved that he slept much better when he was being cuddled – or, judging from how tight Anakin liked to hug him sometimes, _strangled_ \- but tonight there was an overwhelming sense of unease that pervaded his mind, preventing unconsciousness from claiming him.

He sat up, gently peeling Anakin away from him, not wanting to wake the other man, but there was still a small grumble at the loss of a heat source.

“Wherr’ goin’?”

“Just to get a glass of water, Anakin,” Ben murmured, kissing his boyfriend behind the ear and arranging the duvet around him. When he was sure that Anakin was tucked in comfortably – and from the looks of it had gone straight back to dreamland – he slipped quietly out of the room. 

The house was dark and quiet, and Anakin, despite being a heavy sleeper most of the time, was sensitive to light at night interrupting his slumber, so Ben refrained from turning on any of the lamps in the house. The moonlight illuminated enough of the house so he could see where he was going, though, so Ben padded quietly into the kitchen and poured himself a small plastic cup of water. 

He leaned against the counter as he drank, massaging his temple. 

_Something does not feel right._

It was as if he was forgetting something. Well – to be fair, the memory loss had caused him to forget almost _everything_ before he met Anakin. 

Not that he regretted the memory loss if it meant meeting Anakin. Anakin had been the best thing to happen to him in his life, and it was a statement he’d admit confidently. Whatever his past life was, he had a feeling that there had been nobody for him as perfect as Anakin. Nobody who understood him, nobody who had such raw _chemistry_ with him like Anakin did. 

A name popped into his head, intrusively and unexpectedly. _Mace Windu._

Ben frowned. Was Mace Windu an acquaintance from his old life? An enemy? A family member? Or…oh, he didn’t like this last option – an intimate partner? Yet the name did not spark any feelings of love, just a strong sense of camaraderie – so this Mace Windu must have been a good friend. For some reason, Ben immediately associated the name with a sharp shade of violet.

_I’m remembering._

Another name crept into his mind. _Qui-Gon._

What a weird name! Again, Ben searched his feelings – and found a deep sense of platonic love associated with the name. _There was a family name, too – but I can’t seem to remember it. Did it start with K? Was it Kenobi, like mine? Or was it J?_ Either way, Qui-Gon had to be a family member of some sort.

More names assaulted his memory. _Yoda. Plo Koon. Ki-Adi. Shaak Ti. Adi Gallia. Kit Fisto._ There were simply too many. Ben knelt down, clutching the cup carefully, barely even noticing that his hands were shaking badly, causing drops of water to spill on the marble tiles. The names and the feelings they brought overwhelmed him, threatening to cause a sensory overload. 

Some names he could associate with physical objects, or concepts, like colours. The name _Yoda_ reminded him of green, the same shade as a lilypad in a pond. _Aayla Secura_ reminded him of a blazing fire – beautiful but dangerous. _Luminara Unduli_ reminded him of an owl, the embodiment of wisdom and strategy. And for some reason, _Kit Fisto_ reminded him of an octopus.

And yet his struggling memory could not bring up any faces that matched these names. 

Ben sighed, cradling his head in his hands. At least the names had stopped surfacing. He supposed it was good, that he was finally starting to remember. Maybe the memories would come back piecemeal, like a puzzle, and one day he would be able to stitch them all together. 

It was frustrating. The emotions associated with these names were good ones; many of them invoked warmth and feelings of friendship. These were people he’d left in a life behind, Ben was sure of it; people who were probably searching for him right now. Or so he hoped. The names didn’t exactly sound American. Maybe they were on a different continent?

One day. One day he would remember and then he would go find them, and then he could introduce Anakin to them. 

One last name bubbled to the top of his memory. 

_Obi-Wan Kenobi._

Unlike the rest of the names, this name brought along with it no emotion, just an odd feeling of dissociation. This Obi-Wan Kenobi had the same surname as he did. Was this, perhaps, a brother? Or a family member? Judging from how Ben felt about the name, he couldn’t say with certainty that he enjoyed a good relationship with this Obi-Wan in his past life – _neutral_ would have been a more befitting word.

Unsettled, Ben let his finger circle the rim of his cup, quietly contemplating. 

Just _who_ had he been before Anakin had found him?

A voice from his bedroom caused him to perk up, a voice that _didn’t belong to Anakin._ Ben froze in place for a moment before a small voice at the back of his head screeched at him. 

_Danger._ And then - _Anakin!_

Alarm bells went off in his brain, and Ben set the cup down as quietly as he could, running toward the direction of their bedroom.

\---

The loss of his heat source in the cold early winter night roused Anakin from his sleep, immediately. He demanded a half-slurred explanation for where _the heck_ Ben thought he was going in the middle of the night, and when he received one in Ben’s calming, lilting tones, curled back up into the fetal position, wishing sleepily that his boyfriend would return quickly.

He’d never felt more rested than when cuddling Ben to sleep.

Anakin had almost drifted back into sleep when he felt Ben’s side of the bed dip. Without opening his eyes, he murmured incoherent affections, shuffling closer to Ben’s body to resume cuddling. Ben was always running warm, which was why Anakin had deemed him his official bolster. 

When he touched the body, the skin felt frigid, and Anakin knew _immediately_ that this wasn’t Ben. 

His eyes flew open, and Anakin realized he was staring down the barrel of a gun.

\---

A pair of golden eyes were staring back at him.

Anakin was instantly awake, fear seizing his spine. Out of instinct more than anything else, he raised his hands in the air slowly. 

The golden eyes belonged to a hooded man, whose features were just barely visible in the dim moonlight. Out of the corner of his eye, something shifted, and Anakin realized that there were two _other_ hooded figures in the room, both also holding guns. 

_Oh, Ben. Please don’t come back._

“Where is he?” The hooded figure pointing the gun at him spoke in hushed tones, barely above a whisper. 

Anakin swallowed. When there was no reply forthcoming, the hooded figure jerked the gun in his face, and Anakin flinched.

“The Alpha Guardian? I’m not asking again, human.” 

Anakin’s heart was pounding too hard for him to realize the odd way the demand had been phrased. “I don’t…d-don’t know who you’re talking ‘bout.” 

“Obi-Wan. Where is he?” The hooded figure maintained a calm, yet threatening tone. The golden eyes glinted in the moonlight, menacingly, and the finger on the trigger tightened, causing Anakin to flinch again. “This place reeks of his Force signature. Darth Maul was right.”

“I don’t know any Obi-Wan,” Anakin insisted, his voice low. With luck, Ben would hear the exchange and figure that there was someone else in the house…and hopefully escape out the back door before calling for help.

“All right, stubborn human.” The hooded figure pointing the gun cocked his head, and from his peripheral vision Anakin could see the other two intruders moving out of the room to search the rest of the house. 

_Ben, please. Hide._

He’d never been so scared before in his life for anybody.

The next few moments happened very fast.

Before the other two hooded figures could make it out of the bedroom door, Ben’s familiar silhouette skidded around their corner to block their path. Before Anakin could scream for Ben to _fucking run,_ one of the hooded figures raised his palm, releasing a blast of dark energy straight at Ben. 

Ben ducked. 

The dark energy barreled past Ben, blasting a hole into the wall in front of the bedroom door. The force of the blast sprayed brick and other debris outward, and most of the wall collapsed in a cloud of dust.

Ben’s hands shone, lighting up the room. Before any of the intruders could react, a blast of brilliant blue light energy shot from his hands, sending both assailants flying to the other side of the bedroom, where they smashed past the brick wall and fell two stories out of the house, accompanied by a ton of dislodged brick.

The hooded figure that had been pointing the gun at Anakin, now the last one left, swung his gun up to point at Ben, instead. As he fired three shots in rapid succession, Ben flicked his wrist, forming a shield of glimmering white energy around him that deflected the bullets, which went pinging off the shield harmlessly. 

The assailant growled, throwing away his gun and launching himself at Ben. As Anakin scrambled for the gun, Ben moved like a ninja, side-stepping the assailant and flipping him over in mid-air. When the assailant landed with a pained groan on the ground, Ben quickly shot another blast of light energy straight at him, burning a hole through the man _and_ the floor underneath him. The assailant shuddered one final time before he finally stopped moving. 

There was shocked silence for a moment as Anakin’s mind rushed to catch up with all that had just happened.

“Anakin?” 

Anakin couldn’t take his eyes off of the body on the floor, which now had a big fucking gaping _hole_ in the middle of its torso, but he forced himself to look at Ben, who had suddenly gone very pale, even in the moonlight.

“I don’t think I’m human,” Ben said shakily, before promptly collapsing.

\---

A wet handkerchief pressed to his forehead woke him up.

Ben jerked violently out of unconsciousness. _Danger._ “Anakin!”

“Shh, shh,” his boyfriend murmured, grasping Ben’s hands firmly. 

Ben took a second to give Anakin a once-over. He looked physically okay, albeit a bit shaken. There were no wounds, no physical injuries on him – the intruders hadn’t touched Anakin at all, _thank fuck._

They were still lying on the floor, next to the body of the assailant who had been threatening Anakin with the gun – which meant Ben couldn’t have been unconscious for _that_ long. There was a gaping hole in the wall, carrying in the night breeze, and the bedroom floor was littered with debris and glass. 

“Those two outside are dead,” Anakin reassured Ben, as if he could read his thoughts. “Or if they aren’t – they’ll be unconscious for a very long time.” 

“I’m sorry I broke your house,” Ben said hoarsely, and Anakin let out a dry laugh. 

“Don’t be. You saved my life, Ben.” And now Anakin was clutching him close to his chest, almost suffocating him in the hug, cradling his hands around Ben’s head. “You scared the fucking daylights out of me.”

“I’m so glad you’re safe,” Ben murmured, hugging back.

“Are you okay? Is there any pain?” Anakin finally released Ben from the chokehold. 

“No – they didn’t get me.”

“Oh, good, good,” Anakin sighed with visible relief, leaning in to kiss Ben. It lasted for a while, both of them savouring the fact that they were, unbelievably, _alive._

“Who _were_ those people?” Ben asked, when they finally pulled back from each other.

“I don’t know,” Anakin admitted. “They fucking tried to kill me. But I think they were looking for a man. Someone who I’ve never even heard of. I think they got the wrong house. They must be hired hitmen, or something. And – I don’t know whether I can really trust my own eyes back there, but they attacked you with some mutant powers, or something – and then you…attacked back. With your own.” 

Ben swallowed, lifting his hands up, and turning them over such that his palms faced the ceiling. At first nothing happened, but then white wisps of light enveloped them, light energy thrumming as they weaved in between his fingers. The glow illuminated the dark room, brighter than any lightbulb, and immediately died down with a flick of Ben’s wrist. 

Anakin was gaping. “Ben, that’s – incredible.” 

“Anakin, I don’t know. I don’t know who I am and I don’t know why I have these…special abilities.” Ben’s voice broke. “It’s unnatural. I’m – I’m scared.” 

“I’ll call the police, Ben – you stay here.”

“Who were they looking for?” Ben grabbed Anakin’s hand before he could stray too far. “You said they were looking for someone. Was it me?”

“No. Someone named Obi-Wan.” 

Ben froze. _Obi-Wan Kenobi._

“Anakin – I need to tell you something.”

\---

“What do we do now?” Anakin murmured glumly, looking at the mess in their bedroom.

Ben had just finished explaining to him the flashbacks he’d had of the people in his past life. And since they didn’t know the connection between Ben and Obi-Wan, one could only speculate that maybe someone must have sent assassins (or kidnappers, whatever) for Ben, perhaps because they had mistaken him for Obi-Wan. Ben had said he remembered Obi-Wan having the same last name as he, so there was a possibility they were brothers. Brothers who looked alike, maybe, which could explain why they had thought Ben was Obi-Wan. 

“You’re not safe here, Anakin,” Ben said, clasping Anakin’s hands tightly. “And it’s because of me.”

Anakin opened his mouth to protest, but Ben didn’t let him cut in. “I clearly cannot stay here. I will need to leave, but you don’t deserve to be uprooted just because of who I was in my past life. You should stay with Ahsoka for the time being and lie low. I’ll lead them away from you. When I’m far enough out of the state, you can return back to the house.”

“No,” Anakin frowned. “I’m not leaving you.” 

“Anakin, I’m putting you in danger. And I can’t protect you, because I don’t even know who’s after me – or after Obi-Wan.” 

“I’m coming with you,” Anakin repeated firmly. “And you not being able to protect me, that’s bullshit – or are my eyes deceiving me that you just killed three men to save me?”

When Ben averted his eyes, clearly fighting the guilt that was threatening to overwhelm him, Anakin softened his voice and tried to appeal to him again. “Ben – I _love_ you. I’m not leaving you to face whoever this monster is that’s out there trying to kill you. I _can’t_ be separated from you.”

Ben stared at him, eyes wide. Did Anakin truly love him so much?

“I wouldn’t know what I’ll do if you were dead,” Anakin murmured, his voice wavering, and Ben’s heart broke. 

“Okay,” he breathed, shakily. “Okay. We’ll go together.” 

Anakin kissed him again, on the cheek this time. “What’s the plan?”

“Pack the essentials, quickly. We can drive to the next town, and by the time whoever hired these assassins figure out that we’re still alive, we’ll be far away from here. We’ll have to live life on the run now.” Ben levelled Anakin with a long look, again. “Anakin – I couldn’t ask that of you. Are you sure –”

“I’m sure.” There was a grim set to Anakin’s mouth. “I’m with you, Ben.”

\---

They had been driving for a while now. Anakin had quickly thrown clothes, toiletries, some valuables, and non-perishables into a large bag while Ben had examined the house and destroyed every photograph or document that contained Ahsoka or Anakin’s face, or information. They had bundled everything into the car and left within half an hour.

Since it wasn’t possible to contact Ahsoka for the time being, as a precaution, in case anybody came after Ahsoka, too – Anakin flipped a hanging painting of a mountain range upside down.

“Is that really important?” Ben had asked. 

“It’s a system Ahsoka and I invented when we were younger,” Anakin had explained. “We got into lots of trouble, so we decided there needed to be a subtle yet noticeable way for us to leave messages to let other know we were okay. She got me this painting, and she helped me hang it up. If she notices it’s turned upside down, she’ll know I did it, and she’ll know I’m alive, but I can’t talk to her right now.” 

Now they sat in the car, Anakin’s knuckles almost white on the steering wheel and Ben looking very queasy.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

Ben let out a dry, humorless laugh. “About the magic powers?” 

“Whatever that was back there.”

“To be very honest, I don’t really know what happened back there, either. Up till that moment I did not know I was capable of such things.” Ben’s mouth was a thin line, his lips white. “But I saw you…saw that man _threaten_ you…it was like muscle memory. I dodged the attack because I listened to my instincts. I summoned this…” he looked at his fingers, which were still shimmering ever so slightly, “this energy, to protect you, because I listened to my instincts. Like some caveman part of my brain which had been put to sleep by the memory loss has finally awakened.” 

Anakin kept quiet. 

“I don’t think I’m human, Anakin.” 

“You look pretty human to me.” 

“No human could have done that,” Ben sighed. “I…I honestly don’t know. I search my feelings, but I still don’t know where I came from, or how I ended up here, or who I was before all of this. It’s not normal, Anakin. It’s freakish.” 

“You know what was freakish? Those people back there. The ones that tried to kill me in bed.” Anakin grabbed one of Ben’s hands, keeping the other on the steering wheel, not taking his eyes off the road. “You saved me, Ben, and you defended yourself. I wouldn’t care even if you turned out to be a shapeshifting alien. Those abilities are the best thing you could have had, in that situation.”

Ben exhaled loudly. Clearly there was still something bothering him, Anakin could sense it. 

“Ben…I meant it. I’m here with you. I don’t regret staying with you. I _love_ you.”

“I love you, too,” Ben murmured, smiling as he squeezed Anakin’s hand gently.

“Besides, you’ll need someone to watch your back,” Anakin grinned. “Look, whatever this is. Even if it’s just a misunderstanding that someone tried to get you instead of Obi-Wan. We’ll face it together, okay? I won’t let you go alone, and if you try and shake me off I’ll hunt you down and superglue myself to you.” 

That elicited a real laugh from Ben. “You’re not good with attachments, are you?”

“Most definitely not.”

“In any case, I’m glad you’re here with me too, Anakin.” Ben kissed the back of Anakin’s hand. “Thank you.” 

Farther and farther they drove into the night, unaware of the adventure that awaited.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So! We're finally about halfway through. Thank you everybody who's stuck around this long :-)
> 
> Also, I’m so sorry, I’m not from the United States so I have no idea how long it takes to drive out of Colorado. Apologies if the time I provided in this chapter is a bit unrealistic. HAHA

Those karking _idiots._

How was it possible that three of his most powerful Wraiths had failed to capture one single Alpha Guardian with severe memory loss? Granted, Obi-Wan was an _Alpha_ Guardian, not just _any_ Guardian, but the memory loss spell should have erased all knowledge of his Guardian superpowers, rendering him completely defenseless.

 _They’re lucky they aren’t alive for the punishment I would have loved to impose on them,_ Sidious grumbled to himself. 

Whatever. There were more powerful minions he could send out to deal with Kenobi. 

“Darth Tyranus,” Sidious said as the image of his apprentice came onto the holocomm. “Have you any news for me regarding the Alpha Guardian?”

“We have just finished sweeping his hideout, Master. The evidence doesn’t suggest that he was injured at all in the fight.”

 _You’ve got to be kidding me._ Kenobi was stronger than he’d thought. 

“I have a lock on his Force signature, my Lord. It is weak, but it is _there.”_

Darth Sidious looked up, frowning. If Dooku could sense Obi-Wan’s Force signature, it meant the karking Guardian had regained the use of his Guardian abilities…or at least, he had remembered enough of his past life to regain access to the Force. “He’s not shielding?”

“No, Master. It appears the effects of the memory loss spell are slow to wear off.”

“Find him before he realizes he’s broadcasting his Force signature like a supernova,” Sidious snarled. “And before he regains the full extent of his superpowers.”

“Yes, Master.”

“Tyranus, I want him _alive._ ” Sidious punctuated the last word with a hiss. “Need I remind you how crucial he is to our plans?”

Dooku looked a little put-off, but quickly masked it. “I will see to it that he is delivered alive to you, my Master. I will relay the message to Maul as well.”

“Good. Do not disappoint me.” Sidious switched the holocomm off with a flick of his wrist and leaned back in his throne, steepling his fingers. 

Well. If sending ordinary Wraiths hadn’t worked in capturing the Alpha Guardian, then he’d send Alpha Wraiths this time. Tyranus and Maul he’d handpicked from the Wraith creches when they were infants, sensing their raw potential, and trained them since to surpass all other Wraiths to become Alphas. Sidious was confident in his teaching. 

That wretched Alpha Guardian was as good as his.

\---

Feather-light touches to the base of Anakin’s neck woke him up.

He lay there, murmuring in pleasure as the touches travelled up the length of his neck, till they reached his cheek, forehead, and then making their way back down to his mouth. When he felt another pair of lips on his, he opened his eyes and smiled gently at the man lying beside him. “Good morning, Ben.” 

“Good morning, Anakin.” Ben smiled back, radiantly, as if the events of the previous night had never happened.

Anakin had mentioned, sometime last night in the mad rush driving out of Colorado, that there existed a friend of his who owed him a big favour in New York – Owen Lars. He had an extra apartment somewhere in Manhattan where they could stay for a while. They would drive up to New York from Colorado, and lay low at Owen’s till the danger had passed.

They had stopped in a small town near the outskirts of Colorado, somewhere with lots of open road and flat land, after driving for nearly a full day. Anakin had been doing all the driving since Ben lacked a license, but his eyelids had started drooping after the twelfth consecutive hour of driving, and Ben had to insist they stop for the night. They’d picked the first motel they saw, and both men had all but knocked out the minute their bodies touched the bed, not even bothering to undress properly. 

Ben sat up and stretched, moaning happily when Anakin nibbled at his neck. “Anakin, I love you, but we don’t have the time.” 

Sad noises. 

“I’ll let you join me in the shower…to save time.”

Slightly happier noises. 

The shower ended up lasting a full half-hour, much longer than Anakin’s average of five minutes and Ben’s average of seven; at the end of which Anakin exited from the bathroom with an utterly blissed out look on his face, and Ben rolling his eyes fondly. 

They packed up quickly, and headed to the receptionist to check out. The middle-aged woman that greeted them had a slightly panicked look on her face as she was scrolling through her phone, and very distractedly got them through the check-out procedure.

“You boys be careful out there. There’s meteors fallin’ from the sky and shit,” she said, handing Anakin back his deposit. 

“What?”

“Meteors. Everywhere around the country. Large ones.” The receptionist gestured to the mounted television on the side of the reception counter, where an anchor was calmly delivering the news. The television had been muted, so it was hard to infer anything from the anchor’s gestures, but Anakin could still read the words lazily travelling horizontally on the news ticker. 

There were meteors landing everywhere in the continental United States, the ticker announced. Meteors standard in size, about the same proportion as a small airplane. The picture beside the anchor’s head showed a large rock with numerous cracks and cavities, still smoking from the entry into Earth’s atmosphere, lying in a crater it had created in the middle of the busy highway. Two had landed in New Mexico, three in Kansas. One had ended up on the Nebraska-Wyoming border. Another two in Utah, one in Texas, and another one in Arizona.

Seven in Colorado.

“Classic sign of the apocalypse,” the receptionist shook her head. 

The still on the screen changed to show a map of the continental United States, now with a red circle illustrating the circumference with which the meteors had landed in. Colorado was coloured red, and its bordering states were also included in the circle, but apparently no meteors had landed in any other states that weren’t close to Colorado. 

Anakin frowned, glancing at Ben who had suddenly gone very pale. “You okay?”

Ben grabbed Anakin’s hand, dragging him to the parking lot and away from the receptionist who was now bemoaning about how the end was near. 

Only when they were outside of the building did Anakin give in to curiosity. “Ben, Ben? What’s going on?”

Ben looked at the sky warily, and shook his head. “I had a bad feeling back there. Anakin – let’s get moving first and then talk.” 

Anakin frowned. “Well, I’ve learnt in the past few days there’s no better time than now to trust your instincts.”

They found their car easily, the parking lot not being very crowded, and slid in, quickly buckling seatbelts and tossing their meagre belongings in the backseat. A few minutes later, it was all open road again, the motel becoming smaller and smaller in the rearview mirror behind them, and Ben exhaled a large sigh of relief. 

“The Anakin from half a year ago would have thought it was a crazy coincidence that all those meteors landed so close to one another,” Anakin said, “and he probably wouldn’t have given much thought to it. But the Anakin who has experienced strange beings attacking him in his bedroom knows otherwise.” He glanced over at Ben. “Tell me, Ben. Whatever it is you’re afraid to tell me.”

Ben stroked his beard. “I have the strangest feeling that those aren’t _meteors.”_

Well. Judging from all the crazy things that had been happening in the last few days, Anakin wasn’t surprised. “If they weren’t meteors, what were they?”

Ben stared into the distance for a long while, contemplating. “I…I think they’re… _ships._ ”

“Ships? Like transport ships?”

“Yes.”

“What’re they transporting?”

“Whatever it is, I have a bad feeling about it.” 

“I didn’t see any meteors in Nebraska. We can redirect our route through Nebraska, if those meteors really are what you think they are.” 

“That sounds good,” Ben said, but he didn’t look much more relieved. 

Anakin tried to ignore the dread swirling in his stomach.

\---

They crossed the Nebraskan border within the hour, and it was another two hours before they’d stopped at a gas station along the highway for fuel and snacks. Ben smiled fondly as Anakin got back into the car, arms loaded with candy and other diabetes-inducing gas station sweets. Even when they were on the run, Anakin’s snacking habits hadn’t changed.

“I have another theory, Ben,” Anakin said as they pulled out of the gas station and continued on their journey. 

“What is it?” 

“Hear me out – I’m really serious about this one. I think you could be from outer space.” 

This time, Ben did not laugh, as he had with all of Anakin’s other theories. “You know, after all we’ve endured – I’m not going to be surprised if that’s true, as well.”

“It makes sense, right? The superpowers, you suspecting that the meteors aren’t meteors, but ships – it’s like a Superman situation. You’re from Krypton, and your parents blasted you into space and mindwiped you to save you. Wait, does that make me Lois Lane?”

“If I recall, you were the one that rescued me from the side of the road. I think I might be the Lois Lane in this situation.” 

“Well, I rescued you from death by the elements and you rescued me from those assassins. Guess we’re _both_ Lois Lane.” 

“Anakin – there’s a black vehicle following us.” 

Anakin peeked at the sideview mirror. Behind them, quite a distance away, was a black Hummer. “They don’t look like they’re following us.”

“They were with us on the I-80 twenty minutes ago, and they stopped at the gas station with us, too, but I didn’t see the passengers. I don’t know if they were dressed like the assassins who tried to kill you.” 

_What the fuck._ Since when had his life turned into an action movie? 

Anakin smirked, in spite of himself. “Well, hold onto something, Ben.” 

“Anakin, what –” Ben’s voice was cut off as Anakin accelerated rapidly, putting even more distance between them and the black car. Their tail took a few minutes to catch on, but began accelerating to keep up with them, too. Ben watched as two of the windows of the black car wound down in the rearview mirror, and two hooded figures popped their heads out. They were dressed in black robes – the exact same kind that the assassins who’d attacked Anakin had been wearing the other night. 

“When I was in college I used to do a lot of street racing,” Anakin shouted over the roaring of the engines, as if he was casually recalling a story to pass the time instead of being _chased_ by someone who wanted their heads. “It was kind of dodgy, but I won a few championships.” 

“Anakin –”

“Okay, okay, it wasn’t dodgy, it was illegal. But I was a minor then!” 

“Anakin, in case you haven’t noticed, I’m pretty sure those people back there want to _kill us._ ”

“I’m telling you to trust me. I can lose them easy.” Anakin crunched the pedal again, and the sudden acceleration pushed Ben back into his seat with a soft ‘oof’. “Made a few adjustments to the car. She’s faster than that bucket of bolts they’re driving back there.”

“I think I might be able to get rid of them,” Ben yelled back, and wound down his window, sticking his head out. The two hooded figures who had also stuck their heads out now had their hands aimed toward him, spheres of dark energy already forming in between their palms. One of them fired first, but Anakin swerved the car expertly to avoid the blast. The energy bolt struck the ground, creating a small crater in the road.

Ben channeled the light within him, and created a shield to protect the rear of the car just as the second hooded figure fired their dark energy blast. Ben’s light shield easily deflected the energy bolt, and it bounced harmlessly and crashed into the ground behind them, creating another pothole. Now it was the black car’s turn to swerve to avoid the pothole. 

Ben raised both hands, aiming at the ground in between the cars, and unleashed a continuous stream of bright blue energy. The energy blast impacted the ground and burned a deep trench into the tar, splitting the road in two. One of the wheels of the black car sunk into the trench, the driver not being able to react fast enough, and the entire car toppled to the side, crashing with an audible bang. 

“That was _fucking amazing_!” Anakin whooped as Ben stuck his head back in the car and wound up the window. 

Ben allowed himself to laugh, relieved that they had shook off their pursuers.

“That’s going to leave a mark, though. We’ll have to get the fuck out of dodge.” Anakin hadn’t released the pressure on the accelerator. 

“It will. No more motels for a while,” Ben sighed. 

“There’s lots of camping grounds in Nebraska. We can just choose one and spend the night there.”

“I’ll keep watch for the night,” Ben nodded in agreement. “You sleep. I can sleep while you’re driving the next day.” 

“Sounds like a plan,” Anakin smirked, and even though a large part of his mind was dominated by fear of the people who were chasing them, a smaller, perhaps _sadistic,_ part enjoyed the chase and the adrenaline it brought and the thrill of managing to escape. 

Not that he was going to openly admit that to Ben, of course.

\---

Anakin had chosen a large camping site far away from the main roads. It was difficult to get to if you didn’t know your way, and the roads leading up to it were very misleading, so naturally they had decided on it.

They didn’t have a tent, so Anakin slept soundly in the backseat of the car, snoring peacefully. Ben had created a small fire next to where the car was parked on the grassland, one fire out of hundreds of campers. Surely it would be difficult to find them here without having to search each individual tent first. 

Most people had retired for the night by now, and Ben sat by the dying coals of the fire, quietly thinking. 

The logical thing to do would be to leave Anakin at the campsite and _run._ Lure the assassins out and get them as far away from Anakin as possible. But Ben had no car, and no ability to operate one even if he did, and anyway how far could he get on foot? Knowing Anakin, the minute he woke up and found Ben missing, he would not hesitate chasing after him and putting himself in even more danger. There would be no point in trying to ditch Anakin. The only option left was to protect him.

Speaking of which…

Ben looked around the campsite, making sure nobody was within the immediate vicinity, before he lifted his hands slightly, trying to channel the energy within him as he had before that afternoon. A shimmering blue force field appeared around the dying coals of the campfire, flickering gently. Ben threw a rock, which immediately pinged off the force field.

 _Doesn’t allow any solid objects to pass through it._ And judging from that afternoon’s events, the dark energy conjured by the hooded figures wasn’t able to penetrate it, either. A powerful defense. 

Ben moved his fingers slightly, and the force field disappeared. Instead, blue energy spheres weaved around the coals and rocks that made up the campfire, levitating the pebbles and coals ever-so-slightly off the ground. 

Another flick of his fingers, and the tendrils of light energy danced around the campfire for a split second before the campfire re-ignited itself with a soft _whoosh,_ the flames hungrily licking the air, looking much stronger than the campfire he’d tried to make just now the old fashioned way, with Anakin’s solid fuel. 

_Force fields, telekinesis, and pyrokinesis._ What else could he do?

Ben exhaled shakily. He had to find out. For the sake of protecting Anakin, he needed to know every weapon in his arsenal, and he needed to know to what extent he could use them. 

_I promise, Anakin,_ he thought to himself. _No harm will befall you while I live and breathe, I swear it._

Fear. Fear constantly permeated his mind, embedding itself firmly like weeds and refusing to dissipate. Who was behind the hooded assassins, and why did they want Obi-Wan dead? Maybe he could try to speak to them, tell them that he wasn’t Obi-Wan. 

Unlikely. They probably knew him as another Kenobi. Maybe one of them would have the brilliant idea of kidnapping him to lure Obi-Wan out.  
Something in his mind nudged him. _Try again._

Ben placed his hand on the grassy ground, concentrating once more on the light within him. His hand glowed a gentle, soft blue, and when he removed his hand, pink flowers existed where they were not there before. 

He smiled softly, touching the petals. They were soft and delicate, but _real,_ and Ben couldn’t help but marvel at the fact that he had done that. They were rimmed with a dark blue, a shade which reminded him of Anakin’s stormy eyes. As much as these abilities he possessed seemed to be for adeptly attacking and defending himself, it seemed some of them brought beauty to the world, too.

Something rustled in the distance.

Ben sat up straight, and with a flick of his wrist, extinguished the campfire. He sat quietly for a while, waiting for another sound that could give away the position of an enemy, but the rustling did not repeat itself. 

Something nudged him again. _To your left._

He looked to the left, but again there was nothing. Standing up and brushing imaginary dust off himself, Ben allowed his instincts to lead him all the way to the edge of the campsite, to another grassy plain which had been marked with a sign “not for camping, do not trespass” written sloppily with a Sharpie on a laminated sign. 

A tall silhouette stood in the middle of the grass plains, a cloak swirling in the night wind around him. 

Waiting for _him._

Ben’s heart pounded, but the figure did not move, and certainly made no motion to attack him. 

There was no impending sense that the silhouette was going to kill him, only a slight suspicion that all the silhouette wanted to do was talk, so Ben closed the distance between the two of them until there was only but five meters separating the two of them. The moonlight was shrouded behind the tall national park trees, but some rays of light leaked through, allowing Ben to catch a glimpse of the figure. An oval face, with a tidy silver beard and neatly groomed silver hair to match, staring at him with _golden eyes._

The breath went out of his lungs. 

This was the man from his nightmares, before he had started sleeping in Anakin’s bed. 

“Kenobi,” the man said sweetly. 

Ben frowned, unwilling to let his guard down. He was quite certain that was the man that wanted him dead, now, and the one who had sent the assassins to infiltrate Anakin’s house in the middle of the night, and to chase them down in the middle of the highway. “What do you want?” 

“Just a conversation, my friend,” the man said.

“I know who you’re looking for,” Ben folded his arms across his chest. “But I’m not Obi-Wan. You have the wrong guy.” 

The man chuckled ominously. “Oh, is that so?” 

It sent chills down Ben’s spine. It was a laugh that was _so fucking familiar_ how had he not remembered who this man was by now? Ben delved deep into his feelings to search for any memories he could have associated in his past life with this man’s face. There was nothing but a deep sense of foreboding and wariness; not quite _hate._ And yet, aside from encountering him in his dreams, this man seemed extremely familiar, though so far unplaceable. 

And the name _Obi-Wan._ So familiar, and yet also unplaceable. Since the figure showed no sign of attacking so far – Ben reached deeper than he had ever went before to the abyss of his unknown memories, blindly grasping for anything, _anything_ that could give him a hint of his past. 

_Obi-Wan._ A gentle female voice called out from somewhere in the depths of his memories – almost as if she was addressing _him._

He jerked back abruptly, his breathing rapid, and his fists clenched, but forced himself to continue searching. In front of him, the man calmly waited for him to remember. 

His memory offered him another shred of the past. This time, it was a deep voice who said the words. _“Obi-Wan! May the Force be with you, old friend.”_

And he heard his own voice say the words back. _“And with you, Master Windu.”_

His breath hitched. _Oh._

The realization unlocked a wave of new memories. No visuals came to mind yet, but dozens of voices talking to him, flooding his brain, threatening to overwhelm him. Memories of a not-so-distant past. 

_“This will be a long and arduous mission, Obi-Wan, but I have the utmost trust in you.”_

_“Strong and wise you have grown, Obi-Wan. Proud of you I am.”_

_“Lead the way, Master Kenobi. We’ll join you once you give the signal.”_

_“I think you might need a…more inconspicuous name for this mission, Obi-Wan. What about Ben?”_

Ben – no, _Obi-Wan_ , blinked, and in that moment his knees gave way and he sunk to the wet grass, clutching his head. 

_I’m_ Obi-Wan.

In front of him, the man cackled softly. “It would seem you have finally remembered who you truly are.”

The effort of containing and processing the sudden wave of memories left Obi-Wan’s breathing heavy and unsteady, his physical body weak and unable to fight. But there was Anakin to think of, Anakin who was sleeping peacefully in the car, and suddenly it was easy to quash the voices in his head and replace them with the important questions he had for this shadowy man. 

“Why do you want me dead?”

The man smirked. “Going in straight for the kill, I see.”

“Am I wrong?” Obi-Wan struggled to his feet, still slightly dizzy. 

“Not _completely._ ”

“Are you going to keep being cryptic this whole time?”

“Well.” The man folded his arms across his chest, “I do want you, you’re absolutely right about that. But you’d serve a far more useful purpose to us if you were alive.”

 _Us._ “And you’ve come all this way to convince me to come with you?”

“Honestly, I would be very surprised if you did that. No, I have come here to try and gain your trust, Obi-Wan.”

“Why would I trust someone who’s tried to kill me twice already?”

“I have answers for you,” the man smiled, flashing his golden eyes at Obi-Wan. “Believe me, _I_ was not the one who put out those orders to capture you. It was my Master.”

 _There’s always a bigger fish._ Someone close to him had told him that in the not-so-distant past, only he couldn’t remember who exactly. “What does your Master want with me?”

“Nothing that will end well for you, I assure you.” The man stroked his beard thoughtfully. “I, on the other hand, believe that you would serve as a much more useful asset if you joined us, willingly.”

“You would betray your own Master?”

“Betray? I plan to _kill_ him, in time, and rise up and take his place. That is the way it has always been for my kind. But that is less important for now, Obi-Wan. What may be of more interest to you is the fact that after the devastating failure of your capture at your safehouse, my Master will be sending one of his finest hand-trained apprentices after you, this time. You possess great power, Obi-Wan, and my Master lusts for it.”

“I must truly be something special to you if you were willing to send all those ships just to try and capture me.”

For the first time, the shadowy man looked surprised. “Ah, you remember those aren’t actually asteroids. I should have never underestimated you, Obi-Wan.”

“The memory loss. Is your Master behind that, as well?”

“Indeed he is, Obi-Wan, but you will regain your memories in time. But back to the matter at hand. My Master’s apprentice who has been sent to hunt you down is tremendously skilled and ruthless, and you will find that evading him will not be as easy as the three who were sent to capture you in your sleep. But if you were to come with me, I’m very sure I could persuade him to follow my plan of action instead, and no danger will come to the little _human_ you’ve been travelling all this while.”

Oh _fucknuts,_ they knew about Anakin. Obi-Wan’s hands curled into fists, shimmering threateningly with light energy. 

“Protective of him already, I see! Well, I’ll give you time to think about it, Obi-Wan. And when I come back for you…” a blink and the strange man was suddenly _very_ close to Obi-Wan, grasping his face firmly, and somehow Obi-Wan knew that trying to fight the man would not likely result in him being emergent as the winner. He could sense the malice, the hate, and the dark energy, much more powerful than all the other hooded figures he’d seen so far, swirling around him, threatening to suffocate him. “When I come back for you, you’ll take my hand and join me. I can feel it.”

A small _whoosh_ , and when Obi-Wan blinked again, the man was gone. 

His knees weak again, he crumpled to the ground, shivering violently at the man’s proposition. 

_Anakin is not safe._

No, Anakin hadn’t been safe the moment he’d picked Obi-Wan up from that bush. But Anakin would never leave him, not even if Obi-Wan told him his true name, or told him that they were really trying to hunt _him_ down. The more Anakin travelled with him, the more danger he was going to put himself in, and Obi-Wan had a bad feeling that this would probably end up with at least one of them dead. 

Well. Of course there were no other options. He knew what he had to do. Leave Anakin in his car and run as far as possible. Maybe he couldn’t get far on foot, but he could hijack someone else’s car, perhaps. He’d observed Anakin drive, it shouldn’t be a problem, Obi-Wan was a quick learner…

Something brushed his mind gently, bringing him out of his panicked thoughts. 

Of course. Anakin deserved to know the truth. But whatever his reaction, Obi-Wan was not going to allow him to come along this time. 

It was for the best.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We'll finally get an explanation for (nearly) everything in the next chapter ;) Thank you so much for reading, and for your feedback :-)

Anakin had _not_ taken the news well. 

They sat in the dying coals of the campfire, wrapped up warmly, the late morning sky streaked cerulean, the same color as Obi-Wan’s eyes. Sleet had started falling; light precipitation that was barely noticeable, but definitely _there._ Anakin’s eyes were still bleary with sleep, but they were fierce and determined. Most of the campsite had emptied out already, with the few remaining campers spread far and wide along the campgrounds. 

“No way.” 

“Anakin, this isn’t up for debate. Whoever is coming after me is dangerous.” 

“So were those people who tried to kill me in my bed! And the ones that tried to chase after us on the I-80.”

“The man I met with last night seemed to imply that the one who’s coming is much more powerful, and much more lethal. This is not a situation you want to be in, Anakin.”

“I don’t want to be in this situation at all, Ben! Obi-Wan, I mean. But I’m not leaving you alone to face whoever’s coming after you!” 

“Anakin, listen to reason. If whoever is coming is truly as powerful as I’ve heard he is, I’m going to need all the concentration I can muster. And I guarantee you, it will not end well if I have to worry about your safety, too!” 

“I’m not a kid, Obi-Wan! You think I don’t know we’re in deep shit? Trust me, I knew that the minute I woke up and someone had a gun _to my head._ I can handle myself!”

“We don’t know _who_ , or _what_ exactly is coming, and we don’t know what they’re capable of.”

“I’m not some useless damsel like in the movies, okay? I’m capable enough. Think of me as more of a sidekick.”

“Anakin, I’m being serious here.”

“And so am I! Look, Ben – Obi-Wan, I mean, it’s two people against one. Maybe I can’t do direct melee combat, but it doesn’t mean I can’t be _useful_ from a distance. You’ll need all the help you can get.”

“For crying out loud, why are you being so stubborn, Anakin?”

 _“I’m_ stubborn? Look at yourself! You’re the one refusing my help! Do you think I can’t handle myself, just because _I_ don’t have fancy superpowers like you do?”

Time to play dirty. “Yes! I do think that! You’re just going to be a liability.”

Obi-Wan regretted saying the words the minute they left his mouth. The immediate look of hurt on Anakin’s face – oh _god,_ it was like someone had kicked a puppy – made him want to immediately rush to Anakin’s side and hug him, tell him that he hadn’t meant it at all, not a single word of it. But he reminded himself he was doing Anakin a service in the long run. If Anakin left now, Obi-Wan could go into battle peacefully knowing that his hands were not stained with Anakin’s blood.

“I took you in when you were in bad shape, but never have I once seen you as a liability.” 

That was it. Obi-Wan instantly felt ashamed.

“Ben, I know what you’re doing.” Anakin leaned over and took his hands firmly. When Obi-Wan looked up at him, there was no red-hot anger in Anakin’s eyes, just mild annoyance and was that…a hint of understanding? 

“You’re trying to push me away.” Anakin touched Obi-Wan’s cheek lightly. “But I need you to _trust_ me, Ben…Obi-Wan, please.”

“I do, Anakin, truly I do. But your safety is of the utmost importance to me, and as it is I cannot guarantee you’ll survive the next forty-eight hours.” Obi-Wan raised Anakin’s hands to his mouth, and pressed light kisses to the back of his palms. “Anakin, please, I cannot have your blood on my hands.” 

“Obi-Wan, I know where you’re coming from.” Anakin took a deep breath. He wasn’t used to having to play the part of the rational, negotiating party. That had always been Obi-Wan, and anyway talking things out had never been Anakin’s strong suit. He preferred to do first, and talk later, but something told him to approach this situation with Ben a little bit more _delicately._ “I know you think I might die. I’m not going to say that’s not true.” The panicked look in Obi-Wan’s eyes grew, and Anakin quickly continued to avoid being interrupted. “But trust me when I say I don’t plan to be a useless burden who you have to worry about. I’ll be careful. Do you really think I can’t handle myself?”

Obi-Wan averted his eyes glumly. “No, I don’t.”

“Besides, in times like these, it’s better if you have someone at your side to watch your back,” Anakin said in a tone that brooked no argument. “Obi-Wan, please. We said we were in this together.” 

Obi-Wan took a deep breath. “Anakin – it’s just you know how much you mean to me. I _can’t_ let you come with me on good conscience. If you died, and I could have prevented it, I wouldn’t be able to live with myself.”

 _I’d kill myself._ The unspoken implication gave Anakin chills, but he pressed on. 

“Obi-Wan, do you know why I’m so insistent on following you?”

“Well, I would have thought it’s for the same reason why I’m so intent on you _not_ following me.”

“Yes, you’re right, it is because I love you.” Anakin pressed a quick kiss to Obi-Wan’s cheek. “I love you whether you’re Ben or Obi-Wan, it doesn’t matter to me. But I do have another reason. When my mom died ten years ago, it took me very long to move on, because I keep thinking about how she died _alone,_ and how nobody had her back, and how she had to fend off the monster that tore her to shreds by herself. I kept wishing – I still do, by the way – that I had been there to fight alongside her, so that even if she died at least she wouldn’t die alone.” He squeezed Obi-Wan’s hands lightly. “I don’t want to have any regrets this time.”

How could he say no to that? Obi-Wan nodded defeatedly, leaning in to kiss Anakin. “All right. But you have to do as I say. No engaging the enemy directly. Keep yourself hidden until I give you the all-clear.”

“I will,” Anakin murmured, kissing back ardently. When they finally pulled back from each other, both men’s pupils were blown, and their lips bright red. 

“Besides, if that guy already knew of my existence, he might try to kidnap me and use me to lure you out,” Anakin added, kicking dirt over the kindling of their campfire as Obi-Wan made sure all their belongings were packed up and ready to go in the car.

“That would definitely not end well for him,” Obi-Wan said grimly. “I’d kill him.”

“Together?” Anakin wrapped his hand around Obi-Wan’s, when they were both seated inside the car and ready to depart. “No backing out anymore, Obi-Wan.”

“Together,” Obi-Wan smiled at his boyfriend, gripping his hand tightly. “No take-backs.”

\---

A couple of hours later saw them driving through practically empty Nebraska open roads, accompanied only by the sharp winter wind and the occasional raven flying overhead.

“Looks snowy tonight,” Obi-Wan sighed as he checked the weather app on his iPhone. The previous day had been much warmer, but it looked like winter was finally kicking in. “The roads are definitely going to be iced over.”

“Great,” Anakin groaned. “We might not be able to cover any distance tomorrow. I can try driving slowly, but they might close some roads for safety reasons.”

“We’ll make a stop for the night at some motel, and wait it out,” Obi-Wan reassured him. “I’ll keep a watch.”

“We’ll take turns,” Anakin countered. “You need your sleep too.”

Obi-Wan nodded. “You run the second you hear something’s wrong, okay?”

Anakin rolled his eyes. “All right, all right. I’m not a kid, Obi-Wan.”

It was evening when they stopped at a small Nebraskan town practically in the middle of nowhere, with the only noteworthy landmark being a nondescript two-storey building with a sign on the outside indicating that there were rooms available. Anakin parked, while Obi-Wan went in first to get a room. 

Obi-Wan had insisted on a room with the largest available window, and helped carry in their bags while his boyfriend sunk into the surprisingly comfortable-looking bed, groaning happily. While Anakin showered and got himself comfortable, Obi-Wan set up watch by the window, drawing the curtains but leaving a gap large enough for him to survey the entire town.

“Wake me up when you get sleepy,” Anakin murmured, kissing Obi-Wan behind the ear before promptly collapsing into bed. Light snoring soon followed, and Obi-Wan rolled his eyes fondly, moving to tuck Anakin in tightly before gently pecking him on the forehead.

He allowed himself to indulge for a moment, marveling quietly at Anakin’s sleeping form. This brilliant man had uprooted himself from his roots in Colorado and had pledged himself to a country-wide road trip just for someone who had been a stranger only four or so months prior. Someone who had given part of his comfortable home for said stranger, and who had fed him and cared for him lovingly, never expecting anything in return. And now this same kind, generous man was putting his safety on the line by doggedly sticking to Obi-Wan, even when both of them knew there was a great impending danger.

Truly, Obi-Wan was not worthy, and he feared he never would be.

\---

Ahsoka stalked the length of the living room, staring at each yellow evidence identification marker that now littered the scene and tried not to have a panic attack.

Anakin was gone, and so was Ben.

Around her, detectives and other uniformed officers bustled through what had once been Anakin’s pristine mountain home, sweeping for fingerprints and labelling evidence. Each of them had levelled her with pitiful looks. The information that this was her half-brother’s home – her only close living relative – had spread through the uniformed officers far and wide, and all she had gotten all day were sympathetic pats on the back and meaningless _I’m sorry_ s. 

_Oh, Anakin. What have you done?_

The living room and dining rooms were mostly untouched, but the bedroom was a whole other story. One wall in Anakin’s room had been completely knocked out, opening a hole to the outside, and Ahsoka could clearly see the mountain range from where she was standing outside the bedroom – and behind her, the wall facing the bedroom door had also completely collapsed. 

No bodies, one of the officers had told her. And, from a preliminary sweep of the scene, it seemed that it would be unlikely that there were any blood traces, too.

Well, at least no blood meant Anakin and Ben had no open wounds. 

There was a hole in the parquet floor of the bedroom, which Ahsoka narrowly avoided stepping in. It burned all the way down into the first floor, and Ahsoka could see the heads of her uniformed officers milling about in Anakin’s living room downstairs. Samples of rubble had been dispatched to the labs earlier for analysis to check whether micro-traces of human body fluids could be detected, but as she had overheard another officer saying – the hole didn’t look like it had been caused by something impacting hard on the floor. Rather, it looked more like acid had eaten through the wood.

She shook her head, and went back to the living room, examining Anakin’s bookshelves. The books were untouched, but the small photo frames that usually adorned his bookshelves had all been destroyed in the process, rendering the images almost unrecognizable. 

She remembered each picture clear as day, though. A smashed pink frame contained a photo of Anakin with their mother, Shmi Skywalker, when Anakin had just gotten into high school. Another broken blue frame had used to contain Anakin and Ahsoka’s smiling faces, a day after Ahsoka had gotten into the police training academy. A red frame that had splintered into hundreds of pieces contained a photo of Shmi carrying a baby, while a small boy clung to her dress and stared up at the infant. 

Ahsoka remembered Shmi telling her about that one. The day Shmi had introduced her to Anakin as his half-sister. They shared a mother, but Shmi had never said anything about their respective fathers. They had been happy, however, just the three of them, so neither child had even thought to ask. 

She sighed, running a hand over her face, her mind filled with questions. Had someone kidnapped Anakin? Was Ben secretly a dodgy criminal, and now someone from his past had come back to exact revenge? Or had Anakin been messing around with people he wasn’t supposed to mess with? The last hypothesis was not entirely out of the ball park. Anakin had a knack for doing questionable things and only telling Ahsoka when he needed to. 

A shout from one of her uniformed officers shook her out of her stupor. “Officer Tano!”

She turned to see one of her colleagues – Rex – approaching her. Rex was one of her best friends in the workplace, fiercely loyal and dutiful, and they had shared drinks together on many occasions after a long day at work. But while they were on a scene, professionalism came first. “Got anything for me, Officer Rex?” 

“Yeah. We’ve finished sweeping the first floor, just waiting for Wolffe and the rest of his squad to get back to us after checking the outside of the house. I passed my findings on to Sergeant Cody, but I thought you’d like an update, too.”

“Lay it on me.”

“No sign of any bodies, or bodily fluids. No signs of forced entry via the main entrance of the house, either. You mentioned that Skywalker had a car, but we found no car at all. It might have been used as a getaway vehicle. Either by somebody who might have kidnapped them, or by Skywalker himself. Also, we found something pretty weird – not sure if it’s out of place, we’d like you to confirm – an upside down picture, by the landing.”

Ahsoka frowned. _Anakin._

Rex led her to the picture, and she stared at it. It was the painting she had bought Anakin years ago when he had decided to move to the mountains, which she’d helped him put up, and it had always been mounted on his wall proudly, the right side up. Now it dangled clumsily by its hook, upside down, creaking slightly. 

She heaved a sigh of relief, a giant weight lifting off her heart. _He’s okay._

“It’s nothing,” she waved to Rex. “Anakin had this weird habit of putting up paintings the wrong way. It was like a…” her brain struggled to come with excuses, “a bastardization of art. He likes chaos, my brother.”

“If you say so,” Rex fixed her with a curious look, but dropped the matter. He patted her sympathetically on the shoulder once more before going back outside to meet with Cody. 

_Anakin,_ Ahsoka frowned, studying the painting. _Please be safe._

\---

Something was wrong.

Obi-Wan lifted his head up from where it had been lolling against his chest drowsily earlier, instantly awake. He could sense an urgent warning, setting off alarm bells in his head. 

_He’s here._

He glanced at the clock on the nightstand – four in the morning. What a time to have a battle.

It was as if he could feel their enemy’s aura. It was familiar – someone he had definitely tangled with before in the past, someone that the memory loss had erased. The energy around him was malevolent, reeking of hatred and intent to harm, sending chills down Obi-Wan’s spine. And…it felt like there were _two_ of them. Two distinguishable auras. 

Standing up, slowly as not to wake Anakin, Obi-Wan slid out of the room, practically running down the stairs to get to the first floor, not even bothering to grab his coat. 

It was snowing now, in full force, like the weather forecasts had said, and the ground was blanketed with a thick sheet of snow. Had this been any other time, Obi-Wan would definitely have stopped to admire the sight – he’d never seen the full glory of snow, at least not since after the memory loss – but as it was he strode purposefully across the carpark lot, ankle-deep in snow, toward the enemy. 

They were waiting for him. 

Something nudged him along, and he followed his instincts toward an empty snowy field a few hundred meters away from their accommodations. As he walked, the dark energy in the air around him grew, and it felt similar to when he had met the strange man the previous night at the Nebraskan campsite. 

_Oh._

Standing in front of him, a whole field away, were two shadowy figures, emanating darkness. It was ill-lit, with only the edge of the field being illuminated by the streetlamps from the small town. 

One of the two figures strode toward him, the other one hanging back. The first one drew closer and closer to Obi-Wan, only stopping when he had reached the edge of the field, barely out of reach of the weak light of the streetlamps. He wore a hood, drawn over his head and concealing all his features except for the pair of golden eyes. 

Obi-Wan felt something deep within his mind bubble, slowly rising, but not reaching the surface quite yet. _Oh, great. What a time to remember._

The shadowy figure removed his hood, stepping into the light, and Obi-Wan exhaled sharply. 

_The other man from my nightmares._

“Darth Maul.” The words were out of his mouth before he realized he’d said anything at all. Only when the implication of what he’d said hit him, did the memories truly flood back all in full-force, leaving Obi-Wan bent over on his knees and clutching his head in pain. 

Master Yoda. Master Windu. His mission. His purpose. His fellow Guardians, all in hiding from the Wraiths. The Wraiths, led by the two Alphas Tyranus and Maul, and one Dark Lord, Sidious. The memory of how he’d ended up in that bush, and the events that had transpired before that. 

_“This will be a long and arduous mission, Obi-Wan, but I have the utmost trust in you. The fate of the Guardians lie in your hands.”_

_“Strong and wise you have grown, Obi-Wan. Proud of you I am. Ready you are, to face this challenge.”_

_“Lead the way, Master Kenobi. We’ll join you once you give the signal. You are our only hope.”_

_I remember everything._

A thousand and one memories surged through his neurons, overwhelming his tortured mind, and Obi-Wan screamed, collapsing on the frozen grass from the sensory overload and curling up in the fetal position. There were too many _too many_ memories, audial ones and visual ones and some he could associate with smell, like the time Qui-Gon had brought him to that one planet near Bespin which _positively reeked_ of sulfur, or the time Yoda had brought him Wookiee treats to share and he’d eaten one purely out of politeness even though they tasted like barf, and so many more other memories he _couldn’t handle oh god…_

Struggling to compartmentalize all the different memories, Obi-Wan was only dimly aware that he’d been kicked hard while lying down, and now there was a shadowy figure standing above him. 

_Too much too much too much…_ Coruscant. Alderaan. Naboo. All the different planets they’d tried to find sanctuary in, but the Wraith threat had forced them to flee. Kashyyyk. Hoth. Jedha. Jakku. Tatooine, he’d hated Tatooine, it had been too hot. 

And then there were the complex emotions associated with each of the memories. Anger, warm and red, when he’d been young and unbalanced. White-hot rage, when Maul had nearly come close to killing Qui-Gon on Naboo, instantly accompanied by shame – how could he have succumbed to such emotions of the dark side? Loss, and brief anguish, when his best friend Siri Tachi had died, but he had released those emotions as quickly as they came. Weary acceptance, after years and years of seeing his fellow Guardians being taken down by the Wraiths. 

Determination that he could find a better future for all of them. 

_“Obi-Wan, you’re not focusing.”_ That had been Qui-Gon, when he’d been a young Guardian first exposed to meditation. _“Be with me.”_

_Be with me._

Panting, heart pounding, Obi-Wan blinked, forcibly bringing himself back to reality, only to find himself sitting on the icy ground, with the two Wraiths looming over him. The surge of memories – so many of them, from his birth till this very moment – had taken every ounce of mental energy to handle, draining him, and after that Obi-Wan was certain he wouldn’t be able to fend off two Wraiths on his own, especially since one of them was an Alpha.

Now he knew how they’d been able to track him and Anakin the whole time. He hadn’t been shielding. His Force signature must have been as easy to spot as a supernova in the dark sky. 

_I’ve failed._

He panted weakly, sweating even though it had to be minus fifteen, cracking an eyelid open to peek at the two men standing above him. 

“He’s remembered,” Darth Maul smirked, and Obi-Wan felt a strong hand grasp his neck, squeezing it, lifting him up to meet eye to eye with the Wraith. Beside him, another green-skinned Wraith with the same pattern of horns adorning his head shifted into view. This was someone whom he’d rarely tussled with, but still dangerous in his own right. 

“Savage Opress,” Obi-Wan bit out as a way of greeting, his own hands scrabbling at Darth Maul’s, struggling in an attempt to release the unrelenting grip on his neck. 

“Looks like this retrieval is going to be easier than expected,” Darth Maul sneered. 

“He remembers you, brother,” Opress said. 

“He remembers everything. It seems like the breaking of the memory-loss spell was expedited upon seeing me.” The grip on his throat tightened, and Obi-Wan choked. 

“What…do you…want?” Obi-Wan managed to get out, and Maul laughed. 

“Darth Sidious believes you will make a valuable asset to serve the Wraiths, Alpha Guardian. Your power is immense. It should keep us sustained for quite a while before we have to find other sources of food.” 

His airway constricted even more, and Obi-Wan could feel his lungs struggling to inhale precious oxygen, the corners of his vision already blackening. 

“To be honest, Kenobi, if it were up to me I’d have you killed on the spot.” Okay, so Maul wanted to monologue. This was good. It bought Obi-Wan more time to think of an escape plan. “After you left me for dead on Naboo, I suffered tremendous punishment at the hands of my Master. And all this while I’ve wanted nothing more than to see you _suffer.”_

“I noticed…your…new legs,” Obi-Wan snarked, but it only earned him a hard backhand as Maul brought their faces only inches apart. 

“When Sidious is done with you, you will be _mine,”_ Maul snarled. “And I will make sure you _pay.”_

_Too little air can’t breathe oh god…_

This was it. Maul had him, and he’d heard stories of what the Wraiths did to captured Guardians. He’d seen the holo recordings that the Wraiths had sent over to the Council just to gloat, like the time they’d captured Master Eeth Koth – and nobody had ever heard of any prisoner escaping from the Wraiths alive. 

At least Anakin was safe, though, sleeping peacefully in the hotel room. His only regret was that he hadn’t said a proper goodbye to Anakin. 

_Oh, Anakin. Please forgive me._

Suddenly there was the sound of distant footsteps, crunching on the freshly fallen snow, and a new kind of dread seized Obi-Wan's heart.

“Let him go!” Anakin’s familiar voice bellowed over the howling winter wind. 

_No wait I didn’t mean it I don’t want to see him one last time I take it back –_

“A human,” Savage Opress murmured beside him, and Maul turned his body slightly so that Obi-Wan could see a tall figure running through the snow, waving frantically and shaking his fist at them. It looked like he was carrying something bulky.

“What is a human?” Maul snapped.

“The indigenous species on this planet, brother. From my research, they currently number about seven billion.”

“What abilities do they possess?” Maul’s other hand, the one that was not lifting Obi-Wan up, shimmered with dark energy. “What is their estimated damage output?”

“I do not know, brother,” Opress fell into a battle stance beside him. “The research on this planet is scant. Not many have travelled here.”

“So it would seem you’ve befriended the locals. You know, Kenobi,” Maul turned his attention back to the struggling Guardian in his grasp. “My Master has given me specific orders not to kill you, but he certainly didn’t mention anything about your little _human.”_

 _Leave him alone,_ Obi-Wan wanted to scream. 

A large blaster bolt shot through the air, clipping Maul unexpectedly on the shoulder, forcing him to drop Obi-Wan and eliciting a pained howl. Obi-Wan rolled away, coughing and desperately gasping for air, relieved when precious oxygen finally re-entered his deprived lungs again. 

“Brother!” He heard Opress shriek, and the thought of _Anakin, protect Anakin_ forced him to struggle to his feet, his body swaying as he struggled to regain his balance, his vision still slightly blurry. 

Raising his arm, he fired blindly at the two Wraiths’ direction, unleashing one energy bolt after the other, pouring all the light he had into his attacks. Multiple shouts told him that some of his shots had hit home, and when his vision finally cleared, he saw Opress lying flat on the ground, his shoulders and torso lightly smoking from where Obi-Wan’s attacks had struck him. Maul had formed a defensive shield around himself, but his shoulder looked utterly wrecked from where the blaster bolt had hit him, too. 

He couldn’t keep attacking. He had to stop to rest. Obi-Wan braced himself, knowing that when he stopped, Maul would use the opening to counter him.

And of course, his old nemesis did not disappoint. The minute Maul found a pause in Obi-Wan’s attacks, he shot his own beam of dark energy at Obi-Wan, who barely dodged it, leaping out of the way and landing in a heap of snow. 

Maul’s dark energy was powerful, raw and desperate, much more so than the three Wraiths who’d attacked him and Anakin in their bedroom a few days prior. Obi-Wan, utterly drained from the sensory overload and the temporary deprivation of oxygen, wasn’t sure if he currently had what it took to completely deflect Maul’s power head-on. 

And then there was Anakin. Anakin was running toward him, getting closer and closer, and Obi-Wan had to do something before he got too close. 

Knowing it would cost him, but too desperate to care, Obi-Wan fired a final continuous stream of light energy at Maul, concentrating harder than he had ever before to penetrate past Maul’s force field. Maul, realizing what he was trying to do, rolled away at the last possible second toward Opress, grabbing his brother, and turning to Obi-Wan one last time. 

“I’ll be back for you,” Maul snarled, and suddenly both Wraiths were levitating - _flying,_ shooting upward into the early morning sky until they were nothing but two fading specks.

 _“Obi-Wan!”_ Anakin reached him just as Obi-Wan collapsed once more, reaching him just before he could fall, and lowering him gently to the ground. “Obi-Wan, what the _fuck_ , oh my god.”

Obi-Wan turned his head weakly to see that Anakin had dropped a blaster – the same weapon that the Wraiths had used to attack him in their bedroom – to the side in his haste to catch Obi-Wan. He must have packed it in the car without telling Obi-Wan. 

“Anakin,” he exclaimed happily, raising a hand to cup Anakin’s face, too drained to notice the anguish in Anakin’s eyes. What he needed was a good night’s sleep – no, to sleep for a week. That sounded _perfect._

There was something he needed to tell Anakin, though, his mind reminded him. Something he had to say before he never got the chance to do so again. He’d nearly regretted it just now, but Anakin’s arrival had caught Maul and Opress by surprise, and now he had a second chance to make things right. 

“Anakin, I love you.”

“Obi-Wan, stay with me!” He heard Anakin scream, but it sounded distant, far away and unreachable.

Obi-Wan gave in and succumbed to the darkness.


	9. Chapter 9

The bright light of the bedside lamp assaulted his vision when he cracked open his eyes, and Obi-Wan blinked dazedly for a minute, adjusting his vision.

Testing the range of motion for his neck, Obi-Wan looked around the room – the same hotel room he and Anakin had checked into…a few days ago, he wasn’t sure how long he’d been out – and his gaze immediately fell upon the person lying beside him. 

Anakin must have fallen asleep uneasily, for his face was scrunched up in a slight frown, illuminated only by the bedside lamp. Obi-Wan thought he looked adorable. 

It was still dark outside, and the bedside clock read 2 A.M., informing him that one day had elapsed since he’d faced down Maul and Opress. Obi-Wan checked his mental shields, satisfied to find that they were now firmly in place. He thanked the Force that in his last moments of consciousness before he’d blacked out, he still had the foresight to shield his Force presence, preventing any other Wraith from finding them. 

Now, staring up at the ceiling, he sighed softly. Seeing Darth Maul had brought back all his locked-away memories, and after Maul had revealed his Master’s plans yesterday, Obi-Wan finally had an answer to all of Anakin’s questions. 

Speaking of Anakin…

Obi-Wan turned to face his slumbering boyfriend, smiling softly when he realized that nothing hurt. The Guardian healing factor usually kicked in quickly, and if he’d only suffered minor injuries, they were all usually gone within the span of twenty-four hours. 

He moved to kiss Anakin lightly on the cheek. “Anakin.”

Anakin jolted awake, his eyes searching frantically. “Obi-Wan?”

“I’m here, Anakin – mmph!” Obi-Wan reached out for Anakin, but Anakin moved in to press their bodies against each other, crashing their lips together. 

Anakin’s relief was palpable, and Obi-Wan could sense other emotions like fear, anger, and annoyance drifting in the air around them, but mostly pure relief that the both of them had survived yet another attack, and also slight doubt that they had been so lucky. 

“How are you feeling?” Anakin pulled back after a while, seizing Obi-Wan’s shoulders and checking him up and down. 

“I’m okay,” Obi-Wan smiled, thumbing his boyfriend’s cheek. “A little tired, still, but the healing factor works fast.”

“Good, good,” Anakin murmured, pressing Obi-Wan against his chest again, “because now that you’re okay I am _so fucking angry_ with you.”

Okay. He’d expected this. Obi-Wan took a deep breath, but Anakin was not willing to let him get a word in this time. 

“What were you thinking, Obi-Wan?” Anakin frowned, a tinge of hurt lacing his words. “I woke up and you were _gone!_ You could have at least woken me up before you left! I know you don’t want me to take risks, but I could have stayed far behind and at least kept an eye on you! What if the last words I ever got to say to you were ‘Wake me up when you get sleepy’? What the _fuck,_ Obi-Wan?”

He’d screwed up again. Obi-Wan hung his head, ashamed. Now that he’d heard it, he had to admit that waking up Anakin would have been a much better plan of action. He’d nearly been taken last night by the two Zabrak Wraiths, after all. 

And if Anakin hadn’t woken up on time and come to rescue him with that Wraith blaster…

“Anakin, I’m sorry,” Obi-Wan choked, and was surprised to find a wetness stinging his eyes. “I truly am.”

“Oh, Obi-Wan…” Anakin kissed him again, his tone softening, wiping away the streaks that trickled down Obi-Wan’s cheeks. 

“You were right, Anakin. _I_ was the one that couldn’t handle myself. They nearly took me last night. If you hadn’t showed up…” Obi-Wan’s voice trailed off, unsure if he could continue.

“I stashed the gun the assassins in my bedroom left behind,” Anakin explained. “As an afterthought. I’m glad it came in handy, even though it took me quite a while to figure out how to use it. Didn’t seem like a normal gun.” 

“Your aim was dead-on,” Obi-Wan nodded, burrowing his head into the crook of Anakin’s neck, seeking comfort in the warmth that his boyfriend’s body radiated. “I don’t think even I could have managed such a shot.”

“I learned a few things here and there with a gun,” there was a smirk in Anakin’s voice, but soon worry overtook it. “Seriously, though, Obi-Wan. Please, never scare me like that again. You _promised_ we were in this together.”

 _And I promised I’d protect you._ Although he couldn’t say he’d succeeded, judging from how yesterday had gone.

“I was _terrified._ He had you by the neck and…and later you told me that you loved me, like you were _dying_ or something, and those were your last words.” 

“Oh, Anakin. I truly didn’t mean to scare you.” Obi-Wan rubbed Anakin’s back. “It’s just…when I left the hotel room to find them, I thought for sure I’d seen you for the last time, and I regretted not giving you a proper goodbye. So I didn’t want to wait anymore. I wanted to let you know.”

“I love you, too,” Anakin said, his voice soft. “I always will.” 

Truly, Obi-Wan would never be worthy. 

But they had more pressing issues at hand. 

“Anakin, we need to go,” Obi-Wan said, pushing Anakin back gently. “They could come back any time. I think I hit them pretty bad last night, and you got a good shot in, too – but their healing factor works equally as fast as mine, and it might only be a couple of hours more till they return.”

“Okay, okay,” Anakin got up immediately, scrambling to pack their belongings. “The roads are still slick, but it’s not as bad as yesterday. I can drive slowly. Made some modifications to the car so she’ll be able to hold up a bit on ice.” 

They checked out quickly, and found their vehicle. Anakin hid the gun under the floormats of the backseat, and they pulled out carefully from the lot, continuing their journey eastward. 

“How’d they manage to keep finding us?” Anakin asked, the minute they had hit the open road. Around them, snow continued to fall, but at a much slower pace than the previous day. There were no cars on the road at two in the morning, but somebody had come in the previous day to salt the roads, so they could still gain traction.

“My Force signature.” Obi-Wan scrubbed a hand over his face. “It’s…like an aura. My own individual, unique aura, much like a thumbprint. If you don’t hide it, it broadcasts to everybody within a certain radius, and because of the memory loss, I had totally forgotten how to conceal it. But I remember now, and I’m shielding it, hiding myself from them so they can’t find us. Anakin, I remember everything. I saw the man who came to capture me last night and…it’s a long story, but I can explain everything to you properly now.”

Anakin kept silent for a while, but then reached over and grasped Obi-Wan’s hand with one of his own. By now, Obi-Wan recognized that this was one of Anakin’s ways of providing unspoken comfort.

“Tell me.”

Obi-Wan took a deep breath.

\---

“You were right, Anakin. I’m not from this planet.”

Anakin did not answer, keeping his eyes on the road, but Obi-Wan could tell he was processing.

“You’re telling me that I’ve been dating an alien for the past few months.”

Obi-Wan winced. “Yes. Kind of. This is my true physical form, I assure you, I’m not some…shapeshifter whose actual form is a glob of slime. Although I understand any doubts you may have –”

Anakin frowned, squeezing Obi-Wan’s hand. “Ben – Obi-Wan, I couldn’t care less if your actual form was two heads and a tail. But to be honest, I’m kind of relieved it isn’t.” They shared a laugh together, and Anakin glanced at him for a short while before returning his gaze to the roads, giving him a firm smile. “I love you, Obi-Wan. Alien or not. There are no doubts.”

 _What the kriff,_ how hard would Obi-Wan have to work to make himself worthy of this man sitting beside him? At the rate of how unorthodoxly accepting and selfless Anakin was, he feared he might never be.

“I love you too, Anakin.” 

“Now, continue. I want to hear where you’re from…and what you really are.”

“I was born on Stewjon, a planet quite a distance from here. I’m part of an ancient alien race called the Guardians. We’re supposed to be the keepers of peace in the galaxy. It is our duty to maintain order and use our powers to help those in need, who can’t defend themselves. We’re born connected to this energy field called the Living Force, or the Light, which gives us our powers and grants us foresight, and connects us to other living beings. And it is from the Light Side of the Force that our mandate to protect the galaxy comes from. Now, on the flip side of the coin, is the Dark Side of the Force.”

“Let me guess – the Dark Side is used by those hooded people who were chasing after us all this while. I suppose they’re not from Earth, either?”

“No, they aren’t. We call them Wraiths. Think about it this way: in the galaxy, there will always be good and evil. The Guardians are supposed to be the embodiment of good and light, and the Wraiths – the complete opposite. They crave only chaos and anarchy, making them the natural enemy of the Guardians. We’ve been fighting against their forces for centuries, but it’s always been at a stalemate. But in the last decade, they’ve managed to restructure their forces and consolidate their power, and now they’re at a risk of hunting the Guardians to extinction.”

“And let me guess, the galaxy will get plunged into eternal darkness?”

“I’m afraid that’s correct. The Wraiths don’t just want to destroy us blindly, just because we’re completely different from them. They need to feed on us. Wraiths can eat just about anything, any organic lifeforms, but what they really crave are the light energies that Guardians emanate. They’ll do anything for it. I’ve seen Wraiths go berserk and kill entire populations just to draw out _one_ single Guardian.”

“So they’re hunting you down because they want to eat you?”

“To be more precise, they want to feed on the light energy I give off. That’s what the Dark Side of the Force does, Anakin. It corrupts light and feeds off it. But there’s something else you must know, Anakin. I’m not sure if you’ve heard them calling me this, but I am an Alpha Guardian.”

“I’ve heard of it.” Anakin maneuvered the car slowly to avoid an icy patch. “The night we were first attacked, they said they were looking for an Alpha Guardian.”

“We have a hierarchy. There’s regular old Guardians, which make up the majority of us. Then there’s more powerful, more experienced ones, called Alpha Guardians. I am one of them. And finally, we have two Grand Alpha Guardians who oversee us all. The Wraiths have a similar hierarchy. There’s normal Wraiths, which usually serve as minions, followed by Alpha Wraiths – the one you saw yesterday, the red-and-black one, Darth Maul, he’s an Alpha – and then the Dark Lord, the ruler of all Wraiths. He’s served by his Alphas.

“Being an Alpha, I give off much more light energy than regular Guardians,” Obi-Wan continued. “And if they capture me, they have much more to feed off. They’ll keep me alive for months and months on end until they’ve sapped every single ounce of light energy I possess, and when I finally die from being deprived of the Light Side of the Force for too long, they’ll dismember me and eat my physical body, too.”

Anakin flinched. “That sounds…absolutely disgusting.”

“It’s happened many times over the centuries.” 

“So…you’re part of the good aliens, and those people hunting us are the bad aliens who want to kidnap you and drain your superpowers. Still doesn’t explain how you ended up on Earth in that bush.”

“I was getting there. So because of the fact that the Wraiths have been becoming very successful at killing Guardians, the two Grand Alpha Guardians decided that we needed to find a sanctuary for the Guardian species. Somewhere where the Wraiths couldn’t find us, where we could take our time to regroup, to build up our forces, before heading back out to face the Wraith threat. They sent me to scout for a planet, because I fly the fastest among all of them, and I can go quite unnoticeable if I want to.” 

“You can _fly?_ ” 

“Oh yes, I’ll show you later. Though you should have seen how Maul and his brother got away yesterday – they fly, too. You shouldn’t be too surprised about that.”

“I’m not believing this. My life is becoming a science fiction movie.”

“I know it can be hard to take in all at once, Anakin, but trust me, this is very real.” Anakin hadn’t removed his one hand from where it was holding Obi-Wan’s, so Obi-Wan took it as a good sign. “Anyway, I was sent out to find a suitable sanctuary. But somewhere along the way, the Wraiths caught up to me, and I was forced to divert my route through this star system in order to try and shake them off. But they deployed Maul to hunt me down, and he chased me until we came very close to Earth’s atmosphere. He’s quite fast, too, and he struck me with a powerful spell that I have now come to believe was a memory loss spell. It knocked me unconscious, and I must have dropped out of the sky and landed in that bush, where you found me.”

“Ah.”

“I hope that does clear up any questions you might have had. I was telling the truth when I said I was four hundred and twelve years old back at the police station.” 

Anakin nearly crashed the car. _“What?_ You don’t look a day over thirty.”

For the first time, Obi-Wan smirked. “Guardians have unnaturally long life spans.”

“Okay, so this definitely explains why you were able to heal your wounds so fast when I found you. But I do have questions,” Anakin scrunched up his face to what Obi-Wan now knew as his thinking expression. “If you can fly in outer space, does that mean you don’t need oxygen to breathe?”

“Oh, we definitely do need oxygen. It’s just that when we fly in non-oxygenic atmospheres, we form an oxygen bubble around ourselves to last the journey. It’s usually only effective for a few standard planetary rotations, so we have to stop on planets with oxygenic atmospheres to refill the bubble.” 

Anakin pursed his lips. “So…what does this mean for you and me? You have to leave the planet eventually, right?” Oh _gods_ , this was what he had been afraid of since day one when he’d picked Ben up from that bush. He’d repeated to himself many dozens of times that when Ben got his memory back, he would leave – he had to, he had a life before meeting Anakin – but it hadn’t stopped Anakin from getting attached, and now _for sure_ he’d never see Ben – Obi-Wan – ever again. 

“I do, Anakin. But I have a job to take care of first.” 

His worst fears were confirmed. Anakin looked away, a sudden wetness in his eyes, willing the tears away and telling himself to treasure what little time he had left with Obi-Wan before they parted ways. Of course Obi-Wan couldn’t stay with him on Earth. He was a _Guardian,_ protector of the galaxy, and he had a job to do. There was no way he could abandon all his friends who were counting on him just to be with Anakin. 

Still, Anakin had hoped…

“I’m taking you with me.” 

_What?_

Anakin turned to glance at Obi-Wan, and found only sincerity in his eyes.

“I have to destroy the Wraiths and prevent them from inflicting any further harm on this planet,” Obi-Wan said, squeezing Anakin’s hand lightly. “But when that’s done, I will bring you with me in search of a sanctuary.” Now it was Obi-Wan’s turn to look away. “That is, if you’re willing to leave Earth.” 

“I am,” Anakin blurted out, _utterly relieved_ that Obi-Wan was willing to take him. “I’ll go wherever you go.” 

Obi-Wan smiled, bright and brilliant, melting Anakin’s heart. “Together?”

“Together,” Anakin promised.

\---

Obi-Wan sat in deep meditation in front of the campfire that Anakin had built, while his boyfriend sat opposite him, toasting smores. Even in their rush out of the house, Anakin had not forgotten to grab something sweet.

Obi-Wan reached out with the Light Side, simultaneously shielding himself while probing the Force energies present on the planet. Anakin had asked earlier why the Wraiths had no need to shield their Force presence, and Obi-Wan had only replied, “They’re the predators, Anakin. _I’m_ the prey.”

He could sense a small army of Wraiths, assembled here to root him out and destroy him. Approximately three-hundred and seven of them, hidden within their asteroid-looking ships, waiting for Maul and Dooku’s signal to come out and hunt him down. He sensed Maul’s angry, violent Force signature, hell-bent on seeking revenge for how he had been bested the previous day. He sensed Dooku’s equally malevolent Force signature, calm and steady. 

And there was someone else clouding the Force, someone much more powerful than either of the Alphas. 

_Darth Sidious._

Palpatine was on the planet, too? Obi-Wan’s heart stilled for a moment, before he released his fear into the Force. 

He’d heard stories about the Dark Lord. Sidious was a crafty mastermind, and over the centuries he usually had one or two Alphas doing his dirty work and bringing him captured Guardians to feed on. But Sidious was still the most powerful Wraith of them all, and as Grand Alpha Yoda had often warned him – never underestimate your enemy. 

Surely Palpatine wasn’t going to hunt him down himself. He’d already dispatched his two Alphas, Maul and Dooku. He’d only come for Obi-Wan personally if Obi-Wan had somehow been able to incapacitate both of them. Maul was out of action for the time being after that impeccable shot by Anakin to his shoulder, but Dooku was definitely still battle-ready.

And what exactly had Dooku meant when he’d asked Obi-Wan to join him? Guardians didn’t just _defect_ to the Wraiths, Obi-Wan knew that. 

Perhaps he ought to wait. Dooku had wanted to kill Palpatine and replace him, and if he did that, there would be one less Wraith to fight. 

But Obi-Wan had a job to accomplish, the faster the better, since he’d been off the radar for about five or so months already. The rest of the Guardians would soon presume him lost or dead. There were people counting on him.

 _I know what I have to do._ Search for and strike down Palpatine while Dooku and Maul were still out hunting for him, and then deal with the other two separately. Divide and conquer. 

“What’re you thinking about?” Anakin asked, offering him a smore. 

Obi-Wan stroked his beard, accepting the snack. “We can’t run away any longer. The Wraith Dark Lord is planetside, and if we don’t deal with him quickly, the entire human population will be at risk.”

“Can you take him down?”

“I’ll certainly have to try,” Obi-Wan said resolutely, before internally flinching. _There is no try._

_Oh, Master Yoda, I wish you were here to guide me._

He mentally slapped himself. Master Yoda was many star systems away, and there was nothing the old troll could do to help Obi-Wan. He needed to trust his instincts. 

He needed to trust _Anakin._

“I have an idea.” Obi-Wan rubbed his hands together. “Listen carefully.”


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is my first time writing whump (and a lil angst?) and I'm actively trying to improve, constructive feedback is always welcomed! Thank you so much for reading <3 I've also revised the chapter count because I don't think it will take that many chapters left to finish our story :-)
> 
> P.S. Credit to anesor for giving me the idea of putting the Wraiths' hideout in an air base!

It was nearly a full twenty-four hours later when they finally arrived back in Colorado.

They’d driven non-stop, breaking only to fill up on gas and to eat. Obi-Wan meditated, while Anakin focused on the road, forcing himself to calm down and focus on the plan. Not that it was a particularly complicated plan. What they were counting on was 70 percent the element of surprise, and the other 30 percent Obi-Wan’s skill in battle. 

Every once in a while, Obi-Wan would come out of meditation, pointing Anakin to where he needed to go – where he sensed the Dark Lord’s general direction was – and Anakin would make the corresponding turn, or take the corresponding ramp. 

The drive was mostly silent, as Obi-Wan slipped in and out of meditation, and Anakin could tell that he, too, was equally uneasy about this final showdown, but at least Obi-Wan hid it better. The tension building up in his gut was _overbearing_ , almost threatening to explode, and a small part of Anakin still couldn’t believe that they were driving to what could be their collective dooms. 

He didn’t particularly want to die. In fact, Anakin was very much surprised at how quickly he’d processed the fact that both of them were very likely to die in the resulting battle. But it wasn’t like he had anything to live for, honestly, other than Ahsoka and Obi-Wan. Ahsoka could take care of herself; she had so many friends and colleagues, good people who could take care of her – especially that Rex guy, whom Anakin had always suspected they were kind of more than just _colleagues._

He hoped Ahsoka would forgive him.

They only took one more stop for gas, and this time Anakin withheld from buying snacks – very acutely aware that whatever he consumed would very well be his last meal, but his churning stomach would not allow it. Obi-Wan, who’d eaten very little since they’d been attacked, hadn’t chosen to get anything to eat, either, and Anakin swore when they survived this - _if_ they survived this fight – Anakin would do his best to make Obi-Wan look less like a starved prisoner of war. 

Obi-Wan’s directions led them to a decommissioned air base. It was near nightfall when they reached, and Anakin parked somewhere along the side of the highway, just before the turn into the base, killing the engine. 

They sat in silence in the car for a while, unspoken thoughts clouding their minds. 

“Anakin,” Obi-Wan begin, just about the same time Anakin said, “Obi-Wan.”

“You first,” Obi-Wan whispered.

Anakin took a deep breath. “Okay. Well, I’m not going to sugarcoat it. Today may be the very last day of my life, or yours, or both of ours.” He resolutely kept his gaze off his boyfriend, knowing he wouldn’t be able to take Obi-Wan’s sorrowful eyes. “And if today really is my last day on Earth, I have to let you know that the past five months have been _wonderful.”_ He fumbled for Obi-Wan’s hand in the dark, finding it and giving a gentle squeeze. “And I have no regrets. I love you. But I want you to promise me you’ll try your very best to make it out alive.” 

Obi-Wan smiled fondly, thumbing Anakin’s cheek. “As long as you promise me the same thing.”

“I’ll be careful, I promise.” Anakin kissed the back of Obi-Wan’s hand. “Your turn.”

“Oh – well, you’ve pretty much summed it up for me, actually. The last five months have been the best in all my four hundred and twelve years, and I love you very much. But Anakin, I have to insist. Nothing reckless, please, and stick to the plan.”

“Alright, old man.” Anakin leaned in, and they kissed, one last desperate time, both trying to convey a lifetime of thoughts to each other in those short seconds.

Obi-Wan pulled away first, panting for air lightly, and smiled at Anakin. “Ready, dear one?”

“Ready,” Anakin grinned, grabbing the blaster, and they got out of the car.

\---

Thankfully, there had been no guards on their way to the air base, and no passing sentry vehicles.

They snuck into the air base successfully, Obi-Wan burning a hole quietly through the barbed wire fence large enough for the both of them to pass through. Half-dismantled, rusty plans lay scattered around the perimeter, making the decommissioned air base look more like a junkyard. A large warehouse stood in the middle of the air base, and from the broken upper windows of the warehouse, Anakin could see faint flickers of light. 

“I feel his presence within,” Obi-Wan affirmed, when Anakin cocked his head toward the warehouse. 

Obi-Wan leapt into the air, levitating quietly as he moved toward one of the windows, peeking in. Within the warehouse was a giant meteor – a Wraith ship, he corrected himself – with a few hooded figures guarding the entrance to the ship. Obi-Wan reached out with the Force, and counted another two hooded Wraiths’ Force signatures inside the ship – Sidious’ personal guards – along with Palpatine’s own ominous signature. 

“Four guarding the entrance,” Obi-Wan whispered to Anakin, flying back to where he was crouched behind one of the metal planes. “And two more inside the ship.”

“The Dark Lord seems to be very lightly guarded,” Anakin frowned.

“Truth be told, he doesn’t need guards. They’re just there to serve him, and alert him if there’s any nearby danger. You ready?”

“I’m ready. You be careful inside, please.” Anakin pressed a quick kiss to Obi-Wan’s forehead once more, and then snuck out from his hiding position and moved to the entrance of the warehouse. The warehouse doors were a crack open, so he carefully put the muzzle of the blaster in between the gap, took aim, and fired.

The bolt caught one of the hooded figures directly in the face, and the Wraith collapsed to the ground, while the other three Wraiths took the bait and charged toward the warehouse doors, intent on pursuing the intruder. Obi-Wan watched as Anakin slung the blaster over his shoulder and ran, ducking behind a row of dismantled airplanes, and out of sight from the confused Wraiths. 

As the guards continued to search for Anakin, Obi-Wan flew quietly into the warehouse, and used the dead Wraith’s irises to gain security access to Palpatine’s ship. As the blast doors of the ship flew open, Obi-Wan steeled himself, and flew in.

He hovered nervously, one foot above the ground, making his way closer and closer to the bridge of the ship. He checked his shields several times to make sure. Securely in place, and not leaking anything – no Force-sensitive, Lightsider or Darksider, would be able to tell that he was on the ship. Yet this was the Dark Lord himself, and he’d never faced down the Dark Lord directly before, so even if Palpatine could somehow sense shielded Force signatures, he’d never know. 

Obi-Wan ducked into a small alcove along the hallway when he heard footsteps, sensing one of Palpatine’s personal servants nearby. The Wraith walked past him, completely unaware, but Obi-Wan’s heart was beating so fast he was sure one of the ship’s radars were picking up on it. 

The rest of the journey to the bridge was uneventful. The Wraith that had passed by Obi-Wan seemed to be pre-occupied with something on the lower levels of the ship, and it seemed that Palpatine’s other Wraith was somewhere on the bridge. The Dark Lord’s Force signature emanated strongly from the upper levels of the ship, so higher and higher Obi-Wan went. 

He found Palpatine in a large auditorium lounging on a throne that appeared to be made of the same material as the external of the asteroid-looking ship, the Dark Lord preoccupied with a datapad. His back was to Obi-Wan, so if Obi-Wan played this right, moving slowly and keeping his Force signature in check, he could get the surprise attack advantage. 

_There must be no room for doubt,_ Obi-Wan thought to himself, trying to will his heart to stop pounding. The memories of the other Guardians telling him campfire tales of the Dark Lord came rushing back at him, and suddenly he was a youngling again, sitting amongst his peers, watching as Bant Eerin made scary faces and impersonated the Dark Lord with a fake deep voice, telling all the other younglings how he tortured Guardians before feeding on their energy…

_Focus, Kenobi._

Obi-Wan floated quietly toward the powerful Wraith, mindful of his shadow to make sure it did not enter Palpatine’s peripheral vision. Closer and closer he got, his heart in his mouth, hands shimmering with light energy, ready to strike – 

And then he was only two meters away, and it was the _perfect opportunity!_ Obi-Wan raised his hands, ready to fire.

A sudden rush of terror and white-hot pain seized him, and Obi-Wan realized with horror that it wasn’t _his._

_Anakin!_

They had a Force bond. That wasn’t possible. Guardians didn’t form Force bonds with non-Guardians who did not have access to the Force. 

Obi-Wan could _feel_ Anakin’s fear, thick and palpable, rolling off in waves from the other man. Anakin’s heart was beating a hundred miles an hour as he was being _chased_ – Obi-Wan was sure of it – and there was _pain_ , Anakin’s right leg was engulfed in white hot needles, and his arm was knocked hard, the whole limb numb from the impact. Anakin was _hurt_ , Anakin was in _danger_ , Anakin was _dying_ …

His shields slipped ever so slightly, and if Obi-Wan could pinpoint the exact moment when the whole plan went to shit, it would be now.

An invisible grip closed around his throat, squeezing hard, and Obi-Wan choked, dropping to the cool floor, once again scrabbling at his neck. 

“Alpha Guardian,” the Dark Lord drawled in his low baritone, turning slowly to meet Obi-Wan. “Haven’t you been told it’s rude to sneak up on people?”

 _Oh god_ he was even uglier up close, and while his physical face may not have been scary, wrinkly as it was, his aura definitely was, surging with hate and malice as it wrapped itself around Obi-Wan’s Force signature, threatening to snuff out the Light. His golden eyes were cold and calculating, fixed on Obi-Wan hungrily. 

Palpatine waved a finger, and Obi-Wan found himself dangling four feet off the ground, held firmly in place by Palpatine’s use of the Dark Side of the Force, in a position that put him face to face with the Dark Lord. 

Palpatine stood up, brushing imaginary dust off his grand cloak. “Your visit is certainly unexpected, but not unwelcome.”

He’d failed. He had let his shields slip ever so slightly, let himself be distracted by Anakin, and now his tiny window of opportunity of ridding the universe of the Dark Lord once and for all had come and gone. The Guardians would never be safe, now. 

“Darth Sidious,” Obi-Wan gasped. The Force choke was strong, but it did allow him some leeway to breathe.

“Obi-Wan Kenobi,” Palpatine returned. “I’ve heard so many stories about you. I have to say, if even half of them are true, then I am _very_ impressed.”

Obi-Wan glared at him – as much of a glare as he could muster while being Force-choked, anyway.

“You’re a very feisty one, Master Kenobi. You snuck all the way here, one lone Guardian, thinking you could kill _me_?” Sidious bared his teeth, and Obi-Wan caught a glimpse of the Wraith’s sharp fangs, a single thread of drool hanging from his mouth. “Bravery or stupidity, I cannot exactly say, but I do find myself wishing my Wraith army had even half your courage.”

The Force grip on him grew tighter, and Obi-Wan struggled to inhale. 

Sidious studied his captive’s rapidly purpling face, and swept his cloak behind him, making for the exit of the throne room. He waved his fingers slightly, using the Force to levitate Obi-Wan to follow just behind him.

“Delicious, delicious power,” Palpatine licked his lips as he descended the stairway of the throne room, taking the pathway toward the bridge. “It’s been so long since I’ve had an Alpha Guardian, you know.” 

“You’re sick,” Obi-Wan bit out. 

“It’s just the way life works, my dear Obi-Wan. I am, after all, a Wraith, and Wraiths feed off Guardians.” Palpatine levelled him with a hungry sideways glance that sent chills down Obi-Wan’s spine.

The Dark was _suffocating him_ he couldn’t even _breathe_ , Palpatine’s dark aura thrumming and enveloping him, snuffing the Light out, and when Obi-Wan used what little energy he had to try to reach into the Light to draw power for an attack, he found nothing.

As Palpatine stepped into the bridge, he flicked his wrist, and Obi-Wan dropped from where he had previously been levitating onto the cold bridge floor, gasping for much-needed oxygen as the Force choke stopped constricting his airways. 

He _really_ needed to stop getting choked.

Palpatine stood in the middle of the bridge, watching calmly as Obi-Wan regained his breath on hands and knees, panting heavily.

 _He’s playing with me,_ Obi-Wan realized. Of the many stories he’d heard Bant tell, one recurring theme had been how Sidious loved playing with his food. Captured Guardians would suffer unrelenting torture until their very spirits were broken, and then Sidious would begin his feed. 

“I’m going to offer you a choice, Master Kenobi,” Palpatine watched him with expressionless eyes as Obi-Wan struggled to his feet. “I’ve heard, in the half-or-so-orbit of this planet around the star that you’ve been here, you’ve found someone worthy of your attention.”

Obi-Wan froze, staring unseeingly at the floor.

“Imagine my surprise when I found out the great Alpha Guardian, the _perfect rule-abiding poster-boy_ of the Guardians, has developed feelings for a _human._ What would the Council say? I thought your low Guardian birthrates meant you were banned from taking other species as mates.” 

Obi-Wan swallowed slowly. All these were just another reminder of how he had, yet again, _failed_ his fellow Guardians. Failure to kill Darth Sidious, failure to find them a new sanctuary, failure to even abide by the Guardian Code…which he’d prided himself on following to-the-letter since the day he’d been born. _Indeed, what would the Council say if they knew Obi-Wan Kenobi had deviated from the Code?_

“If you divulge the location of the rest of the Guardians, I’ll let you go,” Sidious offered. “You and your little _human_. If you don’t, I will personally hunt down the human and bring him back here, and make you watch as I flay the skin _from his face_. I will not stop until every part of him is writhing in pain, begging me to end his pathetic, miserable life, and when he finally dies from not being able to handle the torture, it will be your turn.”

Obi-Wan swayed unsteadily on his feet as he stood, relieved when he once again reached for the light within him and found that the steady hum of the Light Side of the Force was with him. 

The threat to Anakin was very clear, and Obi-Wan would not stand for it. 

_I’ve failed too many people already._

There was only one clear option for him to take. Take Sidious down, even if it meant at the cost of his own life, and then Anakin and the Guardians would finally be safe. Obi-Wan had never been one for reckless courses of action, but that had been the Obi-Wan before he’d met Anakin.

Anakin, for which he’d _promised_ to protect.

“Over my dead body,” Obi-Wan spat, and Palpatine shrugged, as if he had been prepared to receive a rejection this whole time. 

“Very well, Master Kenobi,” the Dark Lord raised his hands, which crackled with Force lightning. “Then I will make an example out of you, and leave your disfigured corpse here for the rest of the Guardians to discover.”

\---

It wasn’t a fair fight. Between barely eating five hundred calories a day for the past week, the lack of proper-quality sleep, and the deprivation of oxygen, the battle boiled down to a malnourished, exhausted Guardian pit against an overpowered Wraith leader.

At the first blast of lightning Obi-Wan leapt out of the way, barely dodging, and when the second blast came he barely managed to deflect it with a weak force field. His connection to the Light Side was unsteady and feeble, suffocated and clouded by the Dark Side. 

The third blast destroyed the force field entirely and flung him backward, sending him crashing on a control panel. Random buttons and displays lit up and flashed bright spots of color into his blurry vision, as if warning him, _get up get up pull yourself together fight back,_ but the world spun around him and Obi-Wan crumpled to the ground, panting.

“I expected more of a fight from an Alpha,” Palpatine sneered. 

Obi-Wan extended a hand, firing a ball of light energy toward the Dark Lord, who had to leap out of the way to avoid being hit. 

_Keep him distracted._ That was the goal. If Anakin could successfully deal with the guards, then their plan had been to rendezvous back at the car, where they had agreed that if Obi-Wan did not come back within the hour, then Anakin would hightail it out of there. 

“I can do this all day,” Obi-Wan wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, where it came back bloody. 

Another volley of shots of light and dark energy were exchanged as Sidious regained his footing and Obi-Wan staggered unsteadily to his feet, his back to the wall for support. His knees were weak and his thighs where aching, and he could feel what was the likely onset of a migraine from being thrown around like a dog’s favourite chew toy, but Obi-Wan told himself he would only have to remain upright for the next second. And the next. And the next. And the next…

They rounded the control room, unwilling to let each other get close. By now most – if not all – of the equipment in the control room had been destroyed, circuits fried and display panels cracked. A few control panels were on fire. 

A blast of dark energy clipped Obi-Wan on the ribs, and he bent over, gritting his teeth. Palpatine took the opportunity to lazily fire another two shot aimed straight at Obi-Wan’s legs and arm.

Obi-Wan collapsed to the ground, physically unable to stand up any longer. 

Palpatine chuckled darkly, sauntering over to where the injured Guardian lay. “Your sheer willpower is very impressive, Kenobi.” 

“Well, you know, I am to please,” Obi-Wan bit out. 

“Such a snarky mouth, even when you’re at my mercy.” Palpatine twirled his fingers, and the Dark Side of the Force plucked Obi-Wan from where he lay, sending him crashing against the wall across the room with an incredible impact. The force of the throw was so great that Obi-Wan distantly heard the sound of one of the ceiling panels come loose above him, and then a second later the pain of a long durasteel panel crashing half atop him and flattening half his torso.

“I will find them.” Palpatine strolled around the control room, glancing unimpressively at the damage the battle had done to the equipment. “It’s only a matter of time before I find all the Guardians, Obi-Wan. They cannot escape me. And when I do, I will torture them _all_ \- adults and younglings alike – and only when they can barely see through the pain, barely _breathe_ , will I drink their Light energies and allow them to finally become one with the Force.” 

He loomed over Obi-Wan now, looking approvingly at how he had damaged the Guardian.

Obi-Wan could barely lift his head to acknowledge Palpatine, much less open his swollen eyes. His body was engulfed with white-hot pain, and the impact at which he’d collided with the wall had definitely broken his ribs and shattered a few other bones. If he still possessed the mobility to look up at where he’d met the wall, he would have seen a deep, man-sized dent in the sturdy durasteel.

There was no way he could put up any sort of fight now. 

A trickle of cool liquid ran from his ear to his mouth, and Obi-Wan was willing to bet credits that the back of his head had been smashed bloody. A metallic tang filled his mouth, and he was certain his skin had been pierced in multiple locations from durasteel shrapnel. 

_I’ve failed._

“Fights aren’t satisfying when you always win,” he heard Palpatine grumble somewhere above him, but there was no energy left to even respond with a snarky comment. 

_Oh, Anakin, I’m sorry, I love you -_

“Leave him alone!” 

Oh _for the love of Force_ …

Why did Anakin always have to show up at the crux of danger? Part of Obi-Wan was relieved that Anakin had somehow managed to survive evading the Wraith guards, but most of him was internally panicking because now Anakin was in even more danger than ever before. 

But Obi-Wan could not lift his head, could not shout for Anakin to run, or even create a distraction so Anakin could escape. The most he could do was use the last of his energy crack open an eyelid and watch the blurry silhouette of Anakin across the room, aiming the blaster at Palpatine. 

He was vaguely aware that they were exchanging words. Anakin sounded desperate, angry, _scared,_ and Palpatine spoke in a mocking and condescending tone. 

Obi-Wan tried to draw in a breath, but there was a sharp pain in his chest, like something had impaled him, and he was willing to bet something sharp had entered his chest and punctured his lung. And breathing _hurt,_ there was _pain pain pain every fucking where,_ Obi-Wan had never been in such pure agony before and if being dead would take all this away, then for once he wished he could be dead.

He blacked out.

\---

“You must be Kenobi’s human,” the cloaked figure sneered at him from across the room.

Anakin ignored him, his eyes sweeping the room for any sign of Obi-Wan. His heart stopped when he noticed the prone figure lying, unmoving, half-buried under a pile of twisted metal. His head was slightly angled toward Anakin, but his eyes were shut, and blood was puddling around his chest area at an increasing rate. The sight reminded Anakin of the time he’d gone to Seattle to collect his mother’s body. He had demanded the Seattle detectives show him photographs of when they’d first found Shmi, and Obi-Wan in his current state looked only marginally better than her disfigured corpse. 

_Oh god oh god oh god._ Even if he somehow managed to strike down this powerful evil alien - _him!_ Who was nothing more than just a mostly defenseless human – it would take a miracle to save Obi-Wan. 

“He’ll live,” the cloaked figure - _this must be Darth Sidious_ \- waved a hand nonchalantly. “I’m not done with him yet.”

“Get away from him,” Anakin growled, raising the blaster. 

Sidious only laughed. 

“So you’re another gutsy one, _human._ ” The last word dripped with disdain. “I can see why Kenobi likes you.” He took a step forward, and then another, rounding the bridge slowly but menacingly, closing in on Anakin. “Your love for him has blinded you, human. You rush deep into unknown enemy territory with no superpowers whatsoever, one underloaded alien blaster, and no escape plan, because you think you can try and save him. But he is _mine._ ” 

Anakin found himself increasingly being backed into a corner, but forced himself to keep the blaster upright. 

“Fool,” Sidious snarled, and with a twist of his hand, Anakin found himself levitating mid-air, limbs held firmly in place by an invisible force, his blaster discarded and lying useless on the ground. 

“I promised Kenobi I’d find you myself so that I could kill you in front of him. But you’ve saved me a lot of trouble, coming all the way here by yourself.” Sidious stroked his chin, thinking. 

Anakin glared at the alien in front of him. Part of him was in disbelief that there could be anybody who existed in the universe that was so malicious and so unconditionally _evil_ as to torture people for fun. His mind raced to find solutions to get out of this Force hold and engineer some distraction long enough to get Obi-Wan to safety, but for once Anakin couldn’t think of anything feasible. When aliens and their magical superpowers were involved, logic flew out of the window. 

_Come on, Skywalker, you’re an engineer – surely there is a solution to this -_

His eyes travelled to Obi-Wan, and Anakin’s heart broke once more. Self-sacrificing Obi-Wan, who had faced down so many threats alone just to protect him, because Obi-Wan _loved_ him, who did not deserve all this pain that Sidious had inflicted upon him. Obi-Wan, who would give anything up for Anakin’s safety.

“A pity,” Sidious sneered. “I would have enjoyed having an apprentice like Kenobi. The Light Side of the Force has made him weak.” 

“You don’t know Obi-Wan.”

“I’ve fought his kind for thousands and thousands of years, human. I am intimate with the ways of the Lightsiders. Their refusal to use their anger and hate has made them weak. And I have have heard so many stories of this particular one.” Sidious cast a hungry look at Obi-Wan that had Anakin’s stomach twisting jealously. “When I am done drinking just enough of his energy to keep him conscious, I will give him to Darth Maul to play with. The two of them have a rather…brutal history.” 

There was a sudden, unstoppable rage within Anakin’s chest, growing steadily till it threatened to burst. What was this evil alien insinuating?

“I’m surprised Kenobi hasn’t told you,” Sidious continued, an evil smile on his face, sensing that he had riled Anakin up. “Maybe we should get him to explain all about it, when he wakes up. You see, Maul has attempted to lay claim on Kenobi several times throughout the centuries. Let’s just say he’s gotten what he needs quite a few times already, although I can’t say Kenobi was a very cooperative party.” 

The rage spiked within Anakin. _How dare he._ His stomach churned once more, but this time it made him queasy.

“Your emotions are _strong,_ human.” Sidious turned to regard him with an awed look. “I can feel your sadness, your fear, your rage.”

This alien. This stupid alien was the cause of all their problems, the cause of all Obi-Wan’s problems, and the Guardians’, too. Was he toying with him? Just wanting to taunt Anakin in his final moments before he brutally slaughtered the human? Anakin’s rage was threatening to spill over. How could this man know anything about Maul and Obi-Wan’s supposed history? _Exactly what the fuck_ had happened between Obi-Wan and Maul? And why Obi-Wan? Why did this man seem to have nothing but torturing Obi-Wan on his mind?

“I know all about it,” the Dark Lord sneered, as if having read his thoughts, “because I set Darth Maul to it.” 

The next few moments passed in a blur. 

Some part of Anakin reached deep down, drawing on some unknown energy reserves he’d never touched before - never even knew existed, allowing him to break out of the Force grip. His anger drove his actions, his heart red-hot and filled with rage he’d never known before. The only thing that chimed through his mind was a small, evil voice that reminded him of the atrocities this man had committed toward Obi-Wan. Faster than Sidious could react, the minute Anakin landed on the ground, he leapt at the Dark Lord, tackling him to the floor. One hand went up to palm Sidious’ chest, and then the next second there was a hand-sized hole through the Wraith’s heart, sizzling lightly. Too taken aback by the situation - that a _human_ could have broken out of his Force grip, Sidious had not even fought back. 

_Kill him, kill him,_ a voice in his head sang maliciously, bathing his thoughts in evil, black sludge, but there was suddenly a whirl of light pushing the dark away, soothing Anakin’s hurt soul. He could feel the gentle presence of Obi-Wan, even unconscious, wrapping him in a mental hug and freeing his mind of the darkness, holding him gently. 

_This is not what Obi-Wan would have wanted._

Anakin let go of his anger - as much of it as he could. Some dark tendrils lingered around the corner of his mind, and he looked down at the Wraith lying at his feet, the hole through his chest completely cauterized, not leaking a single drop of blood. 

“Oh,” the dying Dark Lord said, lying on the floor, too stunned about the whole situation to even manage proper words. 

Anakin looked down at his shaking hands, light energy tendrils now weaving through them. The same tendrils of energy he’d seen dance around Obi-Wan’s hands so many times. 

“I know you,” the Dark Lord croaked, and those would be his last words as Anakin stomped down on his head, hard. 

There was no time to celebrate. No time to wonder about why he had the same mysterious powers as Obi-Wan did - did sleeping with an alien somehow cause their powers to diffuse over to their bedfellow? - Anakin rushed over to where Obi-Wan was, a choked sob escaping his throat as he saw that the man had not moved even from the chaos of the battle. 

_Oh, fuck._ Obi-Wan had looked bad from afar, but he was definitely worse up-close. Anakin heaved and managed to push the dented ceiling panels off him, and turned him around, but there was a large piece of jagged shrapnel sticking in his chest - _thank fuck_ not anywhere near his heart, but deep enough that Anakin was certain it would have punctured a lung or something. 

_Think. Breathe._ He knew first-aid, enough to bandage up Obi-Wan’s scabs and bruises when he’d first found him lying on the side of the road many months ago, but not enough to fix a punctured lung, or…now that he looked at Obi-Wan’s condition properly, definitely not enough to fix a broken leg, what looked like broken collarbones, and _definitely_ bruised or broken ribs. Obi-Wan usually healed amazingly quick - why wasn’t the healing factor working now? Surely the wounds should have at least sealed up around the edges by now, right?

Anakin looked down at his hands, still pulsing white rays of energy, and took a deep breath. 

_Obi-Wan, come back._

Anakin removed the large shard in Obi-Wan’s chest as quickly as he could, trying not to look at the amount of blood that leaked out from the wound, and pressed a hand to the gaping hole.

_Heal._

Drawing on this same unknown reserve of energy within him - that he had never known existed till Sidious had angered him so deeply - Anakin channeled every bit of light energy into the broken man beneath him. It wasn’t a skill anybody had taught him. It was just something innate, buried deep within him, a piece of instructional code that had never been activated but still was definitely there. 

Anakin watched in awe as Obi-Wan’s chest wound sealed itself, the blood rapidly clotting. The broken leg twisted itself back into shape, and Obi-Wan’s scalp mended itself, the wet and bloody bits drying off and replaced with auburn hair. Light energy flooded Obi-Wan’s body, levitating it a foot off the ground, repairing the ribs and the collarbones and all the other parts which had been damaged so heavily by the Dark Side of the Force. Anakin continued, not stopping until he had poured all the light, all the _love_ he had for Obi-Wan, and only when he felt his energy reserves drained did he slump against the wall of the wrecked bridge, watching as Obi-Wan’s newly mended body floated itself down to the floor. 

Obi-Wan’s eyes fluttered open. 

“Obi-Wan!” Anakin crushed him in a hug, not caring how tired he was after the Force healing. “Oh my _god,_ Obi-Wan, I’m so _fucking_ glad you’re alive -“

“Anakin?” Obi-Wan’s voice was soft and dredged with sleep. “Wha happened…Sidious! Where is he?”

Anakin shifted his body from the embrace slightly so Obi-Wan could see Sidious’ cooling corpse in the middle of the bridge, his now-dead eyes looking up at the ceiling. There was a small gasp from Obi-Wan as the Guardian cradled Anakin closer to him, relieved that somehow they had both managed to get out of this experience alive. 

“I don’t understand, Anakin.” Obi-Wan frowned. “I was…going to die. He’d defeated me.”

“I killed him,” Anakin murmured into Obi-Wan’s neck, savoring the fresh smell of pinewood and flowery detergent and just _alive Obi-Wan._

“You _what?”_

“I killed him,” Anakin sighed, annoyed that he had to pull away from the hug to show Obi-Wan the shimmering light energy dancing around his fingers. “I think your powers somehow diffused over to me because we’ve been sleeping with each other. I got lucky, I caught him unaware. Then I healed you.” 

Obi-Wan stared at him in disbelief, his eyes never moving from the light tendrils dancing from Anakin’s hands, and Anakin started to get the feeling that something was wrong. 

“Uh, Obi-Wan?”

“Guardian abilities don’t just diffuse over to whoever we sleep with,” Obi-Wan said confusedly. 

“How would you know?” The question was phrased innocently, but there was still another twist of jealousy inside Anakin’s gut.

“Our scientific literature.” Obi-Wan’s answer soothed Anakin’s jealousy immediately. “However…I have to admit all the research on Guardian biology was conducted millennia ago, when we were still a thriving species. Perhaps we have evolved since then. I cannot be sure.” 

“It doesn’t matter,” Anakin mumbled, crushing Obi-Wan back to his chest again. “You’re alive.” 

“You saved me,” Obi-Wan smiled, that brilliant kind smile that sent warmth through Anakin’s body, and Anakin laughed at the absurdity, at the relief of it all. Knowing that Obi-Wan had not died, Obi-Wan would be okay, and they would finally get another chance to be together. 

“I love you,” Anakin declared, pressing his face to Obi-Wan’s neck, not willing to let go for a good, long while. “I love you so much.”

“I love you, too, Anakin,” came the reply, and Anakin knew that would be all he ever needed.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One more chapter up!!! Just 2 more to go! More questions will be addressed in the next chapter :)

Eventually they had to end the embrace. As much as neither man wanted to let go, they had to leave before the rest of the Wraith army discovered that their leader was dead.

They both clung onto each other’s shoulders as they limped out of the Wraith ship, Anakin drained from Force-healing Obi-Wan, and Obi-Wan still sore from the healing, not a hundred percent battle-ready yet and too tired to fly. On the way out they passed the bodies of the two servant Wraiths who had been serving Sidious, a clean blaster hole put through each of their hooded heads, and Anakin shrugged innocently when Obi-Wan gave him an impressed look. “The blaster did all the work, it’s really easy to use. I didn’t have to do much.” 

There was something wrong with Anakin’s right leg, Obi-Wan could feel it, and there was a fading yet still throbbing pain in his arm, but they could talk about it later. Right now, their immediate priority was to get the heck out of dodge.

They exited the ship uneventfully, and passed by the bodies of a few dead Wraiths, most of them with a blaster shot through the head. The trail of dead bodies continued even when they exited the air base warehouse, and made for the exit of the air base. One of the bodies lay just before the hole that Obi-Wan had burned through the barbed wire fence, but there had been no blaster shot through his head. Instead, his neck lay at an awkward angle, clearly broken, and Obi-Wan realized that somewhere along the way Anakin must have run out of ammunition, and had to resort to physical means. 

The rest of the way to the car passed in a flash. Thank goodness Obi-Wan couldn’t sense any approaching Wraiths yet, even though there were strong ripples through the Force now that the Dark Lord was dead. The air base was secluded, miles away from anywhere else, and it would take a while for anybody - even Darth Maul - to reach. 

“I hope his death serves as a warning,” Anakin said as they got into the car. “Then maybe the other Alphas won’t come after you.” 

“They won’t, not for now,” Obi-Wan replied, strapping on his seat belt as Anakin started the engine. “Once Maul and Tyranus find out their leader is dead, they’ll likely retreat and regroup. But his death will only embolden them. Now they can serve as the combined leaders of the Wraith army, and do whatever they want to dig out the Guardians’ location. They don’t have to take orders from Sidious any longer.” 

“At least this means we’re safe for now.” 

“Agreed. But I have to destroy the remaining Wraith ships before they can leave Earth. Sidious likely sent his best Wraiths to Earth in order to hunt me down. If I can get rid of them, it’ll deal a significant blow to the Wraith army.” 

“We just got out of _that_ mess and you want to go gallivanting straight into another dangerous mission?”

“Not dangerous, I promise. No direct engagement. I just need to get near enough to the ships to destroy them.”’

“You’ve made a lot of promises you didn’t keep, Obi-Wan.”

Obi-Wan swallowed. “I know, and I’m sorry, Anakin. But I need to do this.” 

Anakin glanced over, noticing the determined look in his boyfriend’s eyes, and sighed. This was what he simultaneously loved and also what annoyed him - Obi-Wan’s loyalty. Loyalty to Anakin - his need to destroy the Dark Lord had no doubt been partially because of his desire to protect Anakin and keep him safe - but also, loyalty to the Guardians - his species. They had been hunted down and persecuted for centuries, and Anakin couldn’t find it in himself to keep up the annoyance. And hey, they had survived this far. If they could take down the most dangerous alien, what were a few minions to the both of them?

 _And you can protect him now,_ Anakin reminded himself, eyes flicking over to his hands which were holding firmly onto the steering wheel, still faintly glimmering with light energy.

“All right. But I’m coming with,” Anakin declared. “I’m not powerless now, Obi-Wan.” 

“Agreed,” Obi-Wan smiled, and Anakin smiled back. One last job, then they would finally be free. 

“What was up with the guards back there?” Obi-Wan asked suddenly, looking curiously at Anakin’s right leg. “I felt you trip over something, and I know you hurt your leg.”

“Ah, stupid mistake on my part,” Anakin smiled sheepishly. “I kept looking back over my shoulder because there was this one _very_ persistent Wraith chasing me, so I didn’t see this large crowbar lying on the ground. I fell and rolled my right ankle, but through some messy maneuvering managed to take him out.” 

“Was he the one with the broken neck?”

“Ah, yes, that one. My blaster got knocked out of my hands when I fell, so I had to…get creative.” 

Obi-Wan raised an eyebrow. “Where did you learn that? I don’t think it’s something…normal humans learn.”

Anakin blushed. “Uh, well. After my mom died, I always thought of avenging her death. I took marksmanship lessons and did some self-defense. Of course I’ve never used those skills until I met you.”

“Well, you should be proud of yourself. You saved the both of us.” 

“Yeah, I guess I should. By the way - what did you mean you _felt_ me trip? Are you omniscient? Is this part of your Guardian powers?”

When Obi-Wan didn’t answer for a while, Anakin looked over to see the Guardian studying his fingers, contemplating something unknown. “Anakin, do you feel _connected_ to me? Mentally?”

Was Obi-Wan suddenly insecure? “Of course I am, Obi-Wan - that’s why I like you, that’s why I kissed you all those months ago -“

“Oh, no, I didn’t mean _that_ , Anakin, of course we have sparks between us. No, what I meant was - can you feel a mental connection between our minds? Like a psychic link. As if you can feel my emotions and hear my thoughts.” 

Anakin frowned, but concentrated, searching his mind for any such mental bridges. After he’d connected with the Light Side back on Sidious’ ship, it was as if he had learned how to better separate his physical and mental states, and his mental state now felt much more _vast._ His thoughts were still untidy, all over the place, but he supposed he could always get Obi-Wan to teach him how to compartmentalize his thoughts later. All these thoughts had always been there, he was certain - his anxiousness in front of other people. His untempered rage, sorrow and fear when his mother had passed away. His love for Obi-Wan, and his platonic love for Ahsoka. Sifting through his emotions, Anakin found a tiny connection that he was sure hadn’t been there earlier this morning. Through the other end of the link radiated calm and love, and Anakin instinctively knew this was Obi-Wan. 

“I feel it,” Anakin murmured, smiling peacefully. The link was thin, but growing steadily, and it felt permanent, which was _amazing._ Anakin could get used to Obi-Wan’s aura constantly at the back of his mind, calming him. 

“It’s a Force bond,” Obi-Wan murmured, and suddenly Anakin noticed Obi-Wan wasn’t smiling like he was. 

“Is something wrong? Is it bad?” Here the insecurity came again. Did Obi-Wan _not_ want to be mentally connected to him? Maybe he didn’t want to hear Anakin’s miserable thoughts 24/7, or he didn’t like Anakin’s aura, or…

The bond pulsed with love and affection, Obi-Wan reassuring him that none of those things were true. “No, of course not, Anakin. There’s nothing bad with a Force bond. Here’s the thing, though…Force bonds among Guardians exist only between compatible, mated couples.” 

Anakin frowned. “You mean like a soul bond?”

“Kind of. On most occasions it’s formed consciously. Two Guardians who love each other very much choose to mate and form a Force bond. But very seldom it’s formed unconsciously between two people without them even knowing, if the Force deems the two of them very compatible. Like the bond between you and me.”

“So this means we’re soulmates?”

“Something like that, even though we don’t use the word soulmates, just mates.” Obi-Wan looked away. “The thing is - these bonds aren’t to be taken lightly - if one half of the Force bond dies, the other partner dies with them. And the bond is permanent - it can’t be removed. I’m sorry, Anakin, I know the bond was formed without either of our consent, and I know maybe being bonded to someone else isn’t something you ever wanted…”

“Obi-Wan.” Anakin tried his best to channel calming thoughts through the bond like Obi-Wan had did earlier. “In case you haven’t noticed, I love it. I love feeling your presence at the back of my mind, soothing me so I don’t overthink or do anything self-destructive. I don’t mind always having easy access to your emotions. And I certainly don’t mind having a super-fast messaging channel where we can just talk to each other without saying things aloud.” He looked over at his boyfriend, and reached out to grasp his hand. “Obi-Wan, there’s a reason why the Force thinks we’re compatible.” 

Obi-Wan smiled, and Anakin could feel his euphoria through the bond. Knowing that Obi-Wan wanted this as much as he did eased his insecurities. The bond felt genuine and real, as Obi-Wan always did, and Anakin basked in Obi-Wan’s aura, finally relaxed for the first time in so many days.

“Wait, does that mean you can read my mind?” Anakin jolted up.

“If you’re projecting too loudly,” Obi-Wan replied. “I can’t hear your thoughts right now. But if you’re experiencing intense emotions, like pain, or joy, or sorrow - I’ll definitely feel it. I’ll teach you how to shield your thoughts later.” 

“I don’t want to hide anything from you.” 

“Neither do I. But I’m not saying that shielding will block us out from each other. It’s a good skill to learn, in general - it’s more of like controlling your outward emotions so other Force-users can’t sense what you’re thinking. You see, between normal Force-users, if we’re in the same room, we can sense each other’s emotions and thoughts if they’re loud, but any farther away and we won’t be able to. Shielding helps block other Force-users from listening in to your thoughts. But between a Force-bonded pair like you and me, wherever you are in the universe, I’ll be able to feel your presence and communicate with you through the bond. Physical distance isn’t an issue.” 

“Ah, so it’s like long-distance cell coverage,” Anakin smirked, eliciting a chuckle from Obi-Wan. “Actually, that explains why I felt you in danger earlier.” 

Obi-Wan looked at him curiously. “You did?” 

“Yeah, after I took out the last guard. I felt you were in danger, so I abandoned the plan and ran to you.”

“I guess that’s the long-distance part kicking in, which is why you were able to feel my emotions all the way from the other side of the air base.” Obi-Wan squeezed Anakin’s hand. “Thank you for saving me.” 

“I love you,” Anakin murmured. “I would have destroyed both him and myself to save you if need be.” 

“Anakin,” Obi-Wan sighed, but didn’t pursue the topic any further. “There’s still a lot I don’t understand about the bond, though. I believe only Guardians can form Force-bonds with other Guardians. The process shouldn’t work for humans.”

“Maybe the Force thinks you and I are destined to be together, regardless of what species we are.” 

“Maybe,” Obi-Wan smiled, and he did not look disturbed by the fact that they were one human and one Guardian. “You know what? I wouldn’t care much about it. All I know is that we’re meant to be together, and that’s enough for me.”

“As it is for me,” Anakin returned, and then an ugly thought entered his mind, reminding him of what Darth Sidious had said to him earlier. And it probably was a sensitive topic for Obi-Wan, but if he never asked…they had a bond now. They had to be open with each other. And Anakin had to know _what the fuck_ it was that Obi-Wan had endured before they’d met. 

“Obi-Wan,” he began slowly, careful not to think too loud, watching his boyfriend turn to look at him out of his peripheral vision. “I…Darth Sidious said something about you back in the ship.”

“What is it?”

“Something about you and Maul.” Anakin kept his eyes on the road, but cautiously probed the bond for any single sign of distress that came from Obi-Wan. “He said Maul had tried to…lay claim on you many times.” 

Obi-Wan fell silent, and the bond grew quiet. His presence was still there in the back of Anakin’s mind, but it felt muted, restrained. 

“Obi-Wan?”

“I’m - I’m sorry, Anakin. It’s a…tough topic.” Obi-Wan looked away. “He’s…Maul has always had an obsession with me. It started when he badly wounded my Guardian Master centuries ago. I defeated him, chopped him in two - but he survived, and he’s been looking to exact revenge ever since.” 

There was more to that story, but something about the uneasiness trickling through the bond told Anakin that Obi-Wan wasn’t ready to share this with him yet, and oddly enough - he was okay with it. 

“We don’t have to talk about it now,” Anakin interrupted quickly, sending soothing thoughts through the bond. “When you’re ready to tell me on your own terms, we’ll revisit this.”

He could feel Obi-Wan’s gratefulness pulsating through the bond, followed by love, but Anakin did his best to reciprocate. The bond hummed contentedly, growing ever steadily stronger with the outpouring of love from both partners, and Anakin couldn’t remember when he had been more content.

—

The mission to destroy the rest of the Wraith ships had become surprisingly easy. Anakin had expected to be surrounded by Wraith minions, or any one of the two Alphas showing up to try and kill them - but whenever they visited one of the meteor-like ships’ crash site, they’d only seen Wraiths stumbling about uncertainly, as if drunk - and Obi-Wan explained they were likely disoriented from the strong waves in the Dark Side of the Force following Sidious’ death.

The destruction of the ships had been easy with the Wraith army incapacitated - Obi-Wan only had to unleash a stream of light energy aimed straight for the engine of the ships, and each one of them exploded into cascades of flame and flying durasteel shrapnel, quickly killing the Wraiths they carried with them. 

Darth Maul and Darth Tyranus never showed up, and Obi-Wan explained that the both of them had likely went off world - their Force signatures very faint, now - to regroup the rest of the Wraith army and shore up their defenses. 

“You mean there’s more?” Anakin had groaned. 

“Hundreds and thousands more,” Obi-Wan had said solemnly. “But with their best warriors dead, and with the Dark Lord gone - this is a severe blow for them. It will take them centuries and centuries to build up the same power and mastery of the Dark Side as Sidious once possessed.”

Once all the ships had been destroyed, the bodies torched to a crisp and most of the alien-tech incinerated into ashes, Obi-Wan had declared their job done. “The less the humans know of the Wraiths, the better,” he had insisted firmly. “I want to leave them out of the Guardian-Wraith conflict.” 

Now they stood in front of Anakin’s house back in the Colorado mountains, the yellow police tape surrounding the house fluttering in the winter wind. 

Winter was in full force, and it would be Christmas sometime next week - with all the excitement Anakin only had a very vague grasp of time, now - but they wouldn’t be staying long to celebrate the festival. They were only here to tidy up and pack a small bag of Anakin’s belongings before leaving to find the rest of the Guardians. 

And there was one other thing they needed to take care of. 

“Anakin!” Ahsoka threw herself at her brother, wrapping her arms tightly around him, as if she couldn’t believe that he was there.

“Snips!” Anakin reciprocated the hug, waving an awkward by standing Obi-Wan in so they were enveloped in a group hug. 

“Where the _fuck_ have you been, Skyguy?” Ahsoka demanded, still unwilling to let go of her brother. “I was so worried - and the picture, you hung upside down - didn’t exactly reassure me - you better have had a good excuse for all of this -”

Anakin and Obi-Wan exchanged looks over Ahsoka’s shoulder, and Obi-Wan smiled, sending reassurance through their bond. _I think we owe her an explanation._

 _Think she’ll believe us?_

_She’s your sister,_ Obi-Wan was laughing through the bond. _She’ll trust you._

Ahsoka had taken the whole story much better than they’d thought, especially in the way she’d reacted when Obi-Wan showed her his powers, setting a small stump on fire for her, and then quickly extinguishing it. She sat quietly through the part where Anakin described how they defeated Sidious, laughed when Obi-Wan explained the Force bond to her, and nodded understandingly when the both of them explained their plans for Anakin to leave Earth with Obi-Wan.

“You know,” Ahsoka grinned after they’d finished, “that story’s way too far-fetched for it to be anything other than the truth.” 

Anakin smiled, hugging her tightly. “I’m glad I get to see you again, Snips.”

“You’ll visit, right?” Ahsoka frowned at him. 

“Definitely,” Obi-Wan chimed in, and Ahsoka pulled them in for another long hug.

“You know,” she whispered into Obi-Wan’s ear, “you’re good for him.”

“I can hear you,” Anakin complained, but he was smiling, too. 

Ahsoka helped Anakin pack, and promised that she would take care of his house for him. “When you come back to visit, you’ll need a place to stay, you know. I’ll drive up once every week and tidy your flowerbed for you.”

“My goldfish!” Anakin suddenly remembered, standing up. 

“Don’t worry, Skyguy. I took them to my house the day you disappeared. They’re okay.”

At last they were ready to leave. Ahsoka hugged Obi-Wan first, making him promise to take care of Anakin, and then she’d held onto Anakin for the longest time, burying her face into the crook of his neck, not willing to let him watch her cry. 

But Anakin was crying, too. “I’ll come back Snips, sooner than you expect.”

Ahsoka nodded, wiping her tears away as she watched Anakin hold onto Obi-Wan, waving at her. Obi-Wan levitated them into the air, a light blue shield of energy forming around them, and up they rose, further and further away till Ahsoka was staring at nothing more than a white speck in the night sky, no different than any of the other stars that shone down on her. Only when the speck of light had faded - too far for her to see - did she finally turn away toward her car, wiping her eyes and preparing to drive back down into town. 

After all the pain he’d endured, the death of their mother and the string of failed relationships, along with the painful breakup with Ferus. Anakin Skywalker had never truly belonged anywhere, and he’d become so out of place, unable to work with anybody or even be near anyone that wasn’t Ahsoka. He had suffered from anxiety interacting with people, suffered so much with that bastard Granta Omega, that there was no other choice than to pack up and move to the mountains to isolate himself. And he had never talked about his problems or whatever that was bothering him, not even with her. Ahsoka had always noticed it, but never allowed herself to say anything about it. Her concern for her brother had always remained, just below the surface of her skin, always present. 

Today, it was gone. 

Obi-Wan had brought him happiness. Obi-Wan, the stranger who had crash-landed into that Colorado bush, and whom Anakin had picked up and nursed back to health, was the biggest blessing in Anakin Skywalker’s young life, and Ahsoka quietly thanked the heavens for Obi-Wan Kenobi. Wherever Anakin was going to now, it wouldn’t matter to Ahsoka, because his suffering had finally ended.

Anakin was where he needed to be.

—

Anakin had never flown through space before, but after a while the novelty started to wear off.

It was just like drifting through endless darkness, the far horizon peppered with small specks of light from stars in distant galaxies, and Anakin vowed to visit them all one day. But for now, he contented himself with holding onto Obi-Wan, burrowing his face into Obi-Wan’s neck, relishing in the closeness and the warm presence of the Guardian.

Obi-Wan flew fast, so much so that the galaxy around him turned into nothing more than white lines of light instead of the white-peppered horizon he’d seen earlier. 

“Hyperspace,” Obi-Wan explained. “Certain points in the galaxy have sufficiently large amounts of Force energy for us to draw on to leap from one point to another through a hyperspace tunnel. It’ll accelerate the speed at which we arrive at our destination greatly.” 

They’d flown for a few days, stopping at various planets for oxygen, rest, and to eat, and taken several hyperspace jumps before finally arriving at their destination - a small Earth-looking moon, orbiting around a gas giant. 

“This is Coruscant,” Obi-Wan said as they broke through the atmosphere, the outside of Obi-Wan’s flight shield burning up, but protecting the two occupants within from the atmospheric entry-heat. “It’s our temporary shelter.”

Coruscant was lush greenery, covered in trees strangely resembling palm trees Anakin always saw on Earth, and the oceans of Coruscant were a bright blue, reminding him of the Great Barrier Reef he’d once seen on a visit to Australia. There were waterfalls in the distance, Anakin could see as they flew high above the ground - and snow-capped mountains adorned the horizon. Most of the land was untouched and covered in grass and shrubs, but Obi-Wan pointed to a structure near the base of a mountain, and Anakin squinted to see that it was a _building._

“This is the Guardian Temple,” Obi-Wan said as he slowed his descent to the ground, and Anakin could already see the small silhouettes of other Guardians in the distance flying above the Temple, and a small crowd gathering near the Temple entrance, watching Obi-Wan fly in. “This is my home.” 

Obi-Wan landed gently, setting Anakin down, and now that they were up close Anakin could finally see the rest of the Guardians. 

Most of them looked human, with the exception of some - one Guardian wore a brown mask that concealed his whole face with small metallic tusks jutting out of the sides, another was a green amphibian-looking bipedal who had several long head tails, and there were many more non-humanoid Guardians, each of which looked as if they belonged to a different species. There were also some human-looking ones who had white-and-blue horns and drooping head-tails in place of hair, which Anakin found immensely fascinating. 

“Returned, Master Obi-Wan finally has,” a diminutive green troll with a walking stick made of a strange twisted wood stepped to the front of the crowd. Obi-Wan knelt down to hug him, and Anakin was vaguely aware he was staring, but the bond was radiating more contentment that Anakin had ever felt, and he couldn’t help the smile that crept onto his face. This was where Obi-Wan belonged.

“And with a companion, too!” The green troll turned to regard him with a small smile, and Anakin, unsure of what to do, bowed before the elder Guardian awkwardly.

Obi-Wan laughed. “Anakin, this is Master Yoda, one of the two Grand Alpha Guardians of the Order.” 

“A pleasure to meet you it is,” Yoda said, and Anakin found himself returning the pleasantry. 

There were others to rushed up to meet Obi-Wan. A tall man with a long, grey beard and his hair in a bun stepped forward, picking Obi-Wan up and crushing him in a hug. Anakin heard Obi-Wan greet him with a name that sounded like it started with a ‘Q’, but he wasn’t quite sure. And then there were others - another man with long dreadlocks kissing Obi-Wan on the cheek gruffly, in a manner that reassured Anakin they were nothing more than comrades; an orange Guardian with large eyes that vaguely resembled a squid, and then a stoic, dark-skinned man who shook Obi-Wan’s hand, clapping him hard on the back. Anakin stood by the side, watching awkwardly as Obi-Wan reunited with his friends - the people he’d known all his life, who must have been waiting for him for _months_ not knowing whether he was alive or dead - Anakin found himself with a smile on his face as the relieved reunions continued. 

“Much to tell me about, I suspect you have,” Yoda said, when the crowd had finally dissipated, mostly when the dark-skinned guy had waved them all off. Obi-Wan nodded at him, taking Anakin’s hand. 

“I do, Master. I can meet with the Council immediately.” 

“Then a session, the Council will convene at once.” Yoda turned around to walk to the entrance of the Temple, which Anakin could now see was as large as the casinos on the Las Vegas strip and he idly wondered how the Guardians had even managed to build such a magnificent structure on an isolated, otherwise largely uninhabited planet. 

They followed Yoda through the double doors of the entrance. The interior of the Temple was simple - sharp lines with gold-painted ceilings, and small, simple-shaped alcoves adorning the walls. It looked very modern, reminding Anakin very much of human architecture, leaving him wondering how different could the Guardians be from humans. 

As they walked behind Yoda and the dark-skinned man, Obi-Wan laced his fingers in between Anakin’s, smiling at him. More joy poured through the bond from Obi-Wan’s end, and Anakin smiled back as he felt Obi-Wan’s contentedness.

Obi-Wan was finally home.

And for Anakin? 

_My home is with you,_ Anakin thought, and brought the back of Obi-Wan’s hand up to his lips to press a quick kiss. _I have always been home._

He followed the Guardians through the gold corridors, smiling softly as he walked toward the future, never looking back.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One more chapter to go!!! 
> 
> I clearly left enough room for a sequel, but we'll see if that will happen. I've been quite afraid that the plot has been a little too complicated to follow, HAHA. But thank you everybody for your feedback and for your comments, I really appreciate it :-)

The Council meeting room was circular, with the highest ceilings Anakin had ever seen - he supposed aliens who could fly didn’t like to feel claustrophobic, after all. A circle of chairs ringed a raised platform, large enough to seat two and each separated two meters apart from the other. Long windows revealing the gorgeous Coruscant skyline were built into the walls of the room, allowing Guardians to fly in if they wanted to, and if you looked out of them you could see how the Council room was clearly built right at the top of the highest spire in the Guardian Temple. 

When Anakin and Obi-Wan entered the room, there were already some Guardians occupying some of the chairs - one was holographic, likely off-world to fulfill some undercover mission, but the rest were in-person, physical entities. There was the green amphibian-looking humanoid Anakin had seen from earlier, conversing quietly with the holographic human female with braids. There was a female with all-green skin, adorned with black tattoos, and a cloth accessory covering the top of her head, looking quietly at the him - Anakin didn’t remember seeing her before. And there was another dark-skinned female with a head of tendrils sprouting from her skullcap, reading a datapad. 

“All Council members are Alphas,” Obi-Wan explained. “Only Alpha Guardians are allowed to sit on the Council.”

Anakin had vaguely wondered if that was a little bit discriminatory toward the non-Alpha Guardians, but had no time to deliberate more on the matter as the last of the Council members filed into the room and took their seats. Yoda and the dark-skinned man who had accompanied them took the two largest seats in the room, as Obi-Wan led Anakin to stand in the middle of the raised platform. 

“Masters, I would like to introduce Anakin Skywalker,” Obi-Wan announced formally, keeping a comforting hand on Anakin’s shoulder. “He is a human, a species indigenous to planet Earth. He nursed me back to health when I crash-landed there, provided me shelter, and assisted me as I faced down Darth Maul and Darth Sidious.” 

Anakin bowed awkwardly, not sure what the proper Guardian customs were. 

“Anakin, this is Grand Alpha Mace Windu,” Obi-Wan introduced, gesturing to the dark-skinned man occupying the chair beside Yoda. He introduced the other Council members, too, but there were too many names and all of them were foreign-sounding, difficult to remember, and Anakin’s brain was just about maxed-out taking in all this new information. He did catch a few - Luminara Unduli, the beautiful Alpha with emerald skin; Ki-Adi-Mundi, with the elongated skull; Kit Fisto, the green amphibian humanoid; and Shaak Ti, the vaguely human-looking Guardian except for the white horns atop her head. Anakin supposed as long as he remembered the names of the two most important members, Yoda and Windu, it could suffice for now. 

“Anakin Skywalker, we welcome you to Coruscant,” Mace Windu said ceremoniously, when Obi-Wan was done. “Master Kenobi, the Council welcomes you back.” 

There was an unoccupied seat right next to Yoda, and Anakin realized that it must have been Obi-Wan’s. Suddenly he was very much aware of the many pairs of eyes upon them, and he was grateful that Obi-Wan had chosen to stand beside him instead of taking his rightful seat. 

“Gone for many planetary revolutions, you were,” Yoda said. “Feared you dead, we did.”

“I made my way through the Inner Rim hidden space routes to avoid the Wraiths,” Obi-Wan explained. “But Darth Maul caught up to me and struck me down with a memory-loss spell. I crash-landed on the planet Earth, where Anakin found me near his home.” 

“Thank you we must, human Skywalker,” Yoda smiled gently at him. “Without you, standing here Obi-Wan would not be.” 

“Just doing what a decent person ought to,” Anakin shrugged shyly. 

“Felt the disturbance in the Dark Side of the Force we did, a few days ago,” Yoda turned his attention back to Obi-Wan.

“Is it true?” An Alpha with a brown metal mask leaned forward in his seat - Anakin vaguely thought his name must be Plo Koon. “Is the Dark Lord truly dead?”

“He is, Master,” Obi-Wan nodded, and the Council room erupted in excited chatter. “Along with at least four Wraith battalions.”

Mace Windu clapped his hands once, sending a pulse of gentle energy through the room that seemed to reverberate through Anakin’s soul. All the Council members quieted down at once, and the stoic Grand Alpha gestured for Obi-Wan to continue. “Master Kenobi, if you would start from the very beginning, please.

As he recounted the whole story, Obi-Wan often paused to give Anakin the opportunity to continue explaining some bits of the tale himself. Neither man mentioned the Force bond nor the fact that they had been consorting with each other, and _oh fuck_ was Anakin nervous to see whether the Guardians would even be open to Obi-Wan being in a relationship with a _human,_ but Obi-Wan soothed him through the bond, sending serene thoughts to counterbalance his anxiety. Obi-Wan explained how he had slowly begun to regain his memories, how Anakin had been attacked by the Wraith minions in his own bed, and how they had been chased across multiple states in order to escape the Wraiths. When the encounter with Dooku was mentioned, many of the Council members had grim expressions on their faces, and when he spoke of his encounter with Maul and how it had helped him fully remember everything, Yoda nodded thoughtfully. 

“Return, all your memories do, when looking at the instigator of the memory-loss spell,” Yoda deduced.

“This memory-loss spell is a powerful Dark Side spell,” Mace Windu said. “A spell Sidious must have taught Maul, no doubt.”

“We will have to look into it,” Kit Fisto concurred. “But at least we know such a spell exists, now. Guardians who are sent out on covert operations must be made aware of it and do their best to avoid being hit by it.” 

“The spell takes rather long to wear off,” Obi-Wan nodded. “Which is why I’ve been away for so long, Masters. The spell muted my Force signature and locked away the memories of my powers. But the minute I started to remember even the _tiniest_ detail from my life before the memory loss spell, my Force signature started projecting again. Which was how the Wraith Alphas were able to keep finding me, over and over.” 

“Was that how the Dark Lord found you?” Luminara Unduli asked, and Anakin noticed that by now all the Council members were perched on the edge of their seats, eagerly waiting for the best part of the report. “He tracked down your Force signature?”

“Ah - no, actually, Master Unduli. We decided to find the Dark Lord ourselves, to end his reign once and for all.” Obi-Wan looked sheepish. “Anakin led the guards away, while I went in alone to engage Sidious. I tried to get the pounce on him by creeping up from behind while shielding my Force presence, but…” his voice faltered, and Anakin sent encouraging thoughts through the bond. “Ah, my shields slipped for the tiniest moment, and he caught me.” 

Windu frowned, raising an eyebrow. “Master Kenobi, I have never met a Guardian with more robust shields than you do. It is unlike you to get distracted.” 

Obi-Wan swallowed. “I was distracted by Anakin. We - we have a Force bond.” 

Collective gasps from all the members of the Council, followed by hushed murmurings as the Council members talked among themselves. Yoda frowned, ears twitching at this new development, and Windu sat up straighter. 

“Guardians do not form Force-bonds with non-Guardians,” Windu said. 

“It is true, Master,” Anakin cut in, fearful that somehow the Council would blame Obi-Wan for the distraction. “I can feel his presence in the back of my mind, and he can feel mine. We were able to sense each other’s pain even when I was leading the guards far away from him. He got distracted because I tripped and rolled my ankle as I was being chased.”

There was a long pause from the Council, and both Obi-Wan and Anakin waited with bated breath. Finally, Master Yoda motioned with a clawed hand for both of them to continue. 

“He tortured me badly,” Obi-Wan continued, his tone light as if they were discussing nothing more than what to have for lunch. “I was…close to death. I would not have been able to continue fighting. But Anakin sensed that I was in danger and came to my aid.” He smiled encouragingly at Anakin. _Show them._

Anakin turned his palms to face the ceiling, reaching down deep within him to draw upon the Light. Tendrils of light energy weaved around his fingers, illuminating his whole hand, and he could feel Obi-Wan’s pride pulsing gently over through the bond, silently marveling at how well Anakin had learnt to control his abilities in such a short period of time. 

“I killed him,” Anakin finished quietly. “Shot through the chest. I got lucky, I think he didn’t expect a human to have this kind of power.”

“Anakin has somehow gained my Guardian powers, Master,” Obi-Wan began, his cheeks already tinged pink. “I don’t know if it’s because…it’s a side-effect of -”

“I think there can only be one conclusion to draw from this,” Mace Windu interrupted, and Anakin had never been more glad to be saved from the both of them admitting that they had been sleeping with each other in front of a group of strangers…well, a group of strangers to _Anakin,_ certainly, but these were Obi-Wan’s friends and colleagues. It would definitely make things _weird_ for Obi-Wan. “Guardian powers do not just _diffuse_ over to others, no matter the circumstances. And neither do Force-bonds just manifest between a Guardian and a human. Anakin Skywalker, you must have some Guardian blood within you.” 

Anakin froze as the Grand Alpha’s words sank in. “That’s not possible - I was born and brought up on Earth. My parents - my parents are human, definitely, no way…” he trailed off. Well, to be fair, he had only known his mother his whole life, and never his father. Was that to say his father could have been a Guardian? If so, where _was_ his father, and why had his father left his mother? Could his Guardian father - if one even existed - have protected his mother from a certain death in Seattle ten years ago?

The rest of the Council members had resumed their quiet talking amongst each other, but the two Grand Alphas seemed to be deep in thought, studying Anakin. It made Anakin uneasy to have so many pairs of eyes on him at the same time. Obi-Wan must have felt how uncomfortable he was through the bond, and sent calming waves to him.

_What if they think I’m a threat?_

_They won’t,_ Obi-Wan reassured him. _I’ll vouch for you._

Yoda stepped away from his seat and ambled toward Anakin, motioning for him to bend down to meet his height. Anakin complied, kneeling so Master Yoda was somewhere at his chest level. 

“Permit me to check your Force signature, will you?” Yoda requested, pressing a hand to Anakin’s forehead. “Decipher your roots, I can.”

“Of course, Master Yoda,” Anakin murmured, and allowed the gentle nudging at the sides of his mind to enter. Master Yoda’s presence was as calm as Obi-Wan’s, but it still felt different, and Anakin wasn’t sure he would get used to anybody else inside his mind that _wasn’t_ Obi-Wan. Yoda did not intrude, did not probe deeply, only seemed to inspect the corners of his mind politely. Some memories he wordlessly requested for Anakin’s permission to view, but only select, non-private ones, and Anakin wordlessly complied. When the old troll was satisfied with his scan, Anakin felt the calm presence quietly retreat.

“A human, he is not,” Yoda declared at last.

Anakin was incredulous, but words failed him at the moment. He could only sit and stare dumbfoundedly at Yoda.

“I thought as much,” Mace Windu said calmly from where he sat. 

“So he _is_ a Guardian!” Saesee Tiin exclaimed. 

“What is one of our own doing on Earth?” Shaak Ti wondered aloud.

“Not finished, I am!” Yoda rapped his stick on the ground, waiting for the room to quiet down once more.

“Half-Guardian, his Force signature is. But half-Wraith, it also is.”

\---

Anakin couldn’t concentrate on the world around him.

Subconsciously, he was aware that he was in a room of Alpha Guardians, all chattering at once and trying to talk above each other. Subconsciously, he was aware of Obi-Wan’s comforting hand on his shoulder, and the warmth his mate sent through the bond. His knees were now definitely very numb and it was very lucky he was already kneeling on the floor - Anakin was pretty sure he would have collapsed by now, had he been standing. His eyes stared, unseeing, at the diminutive troll in front of him, but his mind was seized with a thousand and one thoughts, each shouting at him at the same time, bordering on giving him a migraine. _Evil exists within you engulfing you snuffing out the light corrupting your soul Obi-Wan won’t want you any more if you’re tainted -_

 _Anakin,_ a very firm voice said within his mind, and Anakin was suddenly aware that the voice was not his. 

Obi-Wan brushed the sides of his mind gently, wrapping a veil of light energy around his conscious. Unconditional love pulsated over the bond, and when Anakin blinked again, Obi-Wan was in front of him, holding the sides of his face, smiling. 

_You are not,_ Obi-Wan insisted telepathically. _You are good, Anakin._

Anakin was aware that there were tears streaming down his cheeks, and he shook his head mutely. How could it be? The Wraiths had done nothing but try to hurt Obi-Wan all this while. Obi-Wan had said it himself, how the Wraiths were naturally drawn to the Guardians’ Light and how they craved it, consumed it, draining the Guardians’ energies painfully before killing them. If half of him was indeed from a Wraith, then it would be logical to conclude that Anakin would be no different. Surely there were powers and abilities he possessed but hadn’t unlocked yet, and what if one of them was the characteristic of craving the Light from a Guardian, too? What if he accidentally hurt - _god forbid_ \- Obi-Wan? 

_I’d never do that,_ Anakin told himself. _I’d never hurt Obi-Wan._

“Quiet!” Mace Windu’s authoritative voice reverberated throughout the room.

“Master,” Obi-Wan said before anybody could say anything else. “Anakin risked life and limb to help me save the Guardians, even without having met any other Guardian except me. He knew nothing of the Guardian-Wraith war, or the dangers involved, when he decided to help me. Yet he bravely and valiantly fought along my side, even when he didn’t know he possessed any special abilities, and even when he knew there would be nothing to gain for himself. He’s gotten hurt along the way, and he gave up some of his own life energy when he healed me. He killed the Dark Lord without giving in to the Dark Side of the Force. He did everything altruistically, and that is something no Wraith can ever claim to do.” Obi-Wan turned to smile at Anakin - and was that - _pride?_ “He may be part-Wraith biologically, but I will not consider him as one in spirit, and I will say he is as much of a Guardian as anybody else in this room.” 

Obi-Wan’s voice was firm, daring anybody to challenge him, and Anakin sent gratefulness through the bond, feeling Obi-Wan reciprocate with love. 

_I love you, Anakin,_ Obi-Wan said determinedly through the bond, refusing to look away. _And I will not leave you no matter what you are._

Obi-Wan’s easy acceptance flowed through the bond, and the last of Anakin’s doubts washed away. 

_I love you, too._

“Unfair it would be, to pass judgement on someone because of their bloodline,” Yoda declared, effectively silencing any naysayers within the room. 

Mace Windu was quiet for a long while before he spoke again. “Skywalker was not brought up in the Wraith creches. He was not taught their evil ways, and he does not know the Dark Side of the Force.” He folded his arms in his lap neatly, and Anakin was not quite sure what to make of the look that he leveled Anakin with.

“Harbor any evil intentions, he does not,” Yoda agreed, and Anakin realized with relief that they were actually vouching for him. 

The two Grand Alphas had spoken, and Obi-Wan was not surprised when the rest of the Council did not raise any objections. Whether or not it was because they were unwilling to contest both Yoda and Windu, or whether it was because they were truly convinced that Anakin was equally a Guardian as much as any of them were - he was not too sure about that.

“Anakin Skywalker, we welcome you into the Guardians,” Mace Windu announced. 

There was a gentle nudging from Obi-Wan, informing him of the expected decorum across their bond, and Anakin acquiesced. “I pledge my allegiance to the Guardians.” 

“We are indebted to you,” Adi Gallia said, and Obi-Wan was slightly relieved that at least this meant the rest of the Council was not against assimilating Anakin into the Guardian ranks. 

“Guardian Skywalker,” Depa Billaba was the first one to address him, and the new title was a little unusual, but Anakin accepted it with joy and the knowledge that he and Obi-Wan were one and the same. “May we enquire as to your age?”

Anakin was confused. “I’m twenty-nine this year, Master. Uh, that’s in Earth planetary rotations.” 

“He is still very young,” Saesee Tiin said. “It explains why his abilities have only surfaced recently. We have much to teach him.”

“Then start as soon as possible, the training must,” Yoda said, and Anakin’s excitement grew. 

“Training?” He turned to look at Obi-Wan beside him. “You mean everything you said - controlling my abilities, shielding, flying - they’ll be willing to teach me?”

“Indeed,” Obi-Wan smiled back, and directed the rest of his words to the room. “Though I may formally request to be the primary one to guide my mate through the training process, Masters.”

 _Mate._ The word sounded so animalistic, yet Anakin relished in the joy that it brought him when Obi-Wan said it. It meant that Anakin was undoubtedly Obi-Wan’s, and Obi-Wan was undoubtedly his, the Force-bond legitimizing their relationship. Anakin idly wondered if that meant he could start referring to Obi-Wan as his _husband._

Mace Windu nodded approvingly. “Request granted. There is one last thing which remains unanswered, Guardian Skywalker. For you to be half-Wraith and half-Guardian, it would have to mean your parents must have been one Wraith, and one Guardian.”

Anakin faltered. Especially after her death, he’d always put his mother on a pedestal - and for good reason. She had been one of the best people Anakin had ever known, and her memory deserved to be honored. And yet it appeared that she had been hiding something about herself from her children all this while. “I’ve only known my mother, Master Windu, and she was murdered ten years ago.” New doubts crept into his mind. Had his mother been murdered because of something to do with the Guardian-Wraith conflict? He was afraid to speak her name, lest the truth be revealed that she was the Wraith parent - but she had been loving and caring, one of the kindest people he knew, and she was always selfless and unconditional in her actions. “Her name was Shmi Skywalker.” 

Murmurs once again broke out through the Council room, and Anakin awaited the blow to be delivered that confirmed that his mother had been a Wraith, had been one of the enemies that the Guardians had been hiding from for so long…

“Shmi Skywalker we did not know her as,” Yoda said at last. “Alpha Guardian Shmi Lars, her real name was.” 

Alpha Guardian?

Anakin exchanged looks with Obi-Wan, both of their jaws slack as they processed this information. 

“Your mother was an Alpha Guardian,” Plo Koon explained. “One who sat amongst our ranks in this very room, many centuries ago, before Master Kenobi was even born.” He sounded wistful. “Many of us here worked alongside her.” 

“She was one of the best of her time,” Luminara Unduli agreed, smiling kindly at Anakin. “She was wise beyond her years, and she contributed greatly to the Guardian cause. She was one of the best Wraith hunters we had. But she insisted on leaving Coruscant many centuries ago as a covert operative to hunt Wraiths to dig out information that could be useful to the Guardian cause. We stopped hearing from her after a while, and believed her dead. We lacked the resources to send Guardians to confirm whether this was true.” She pursed her lips. “It seems that until recent years, she remained alive.” 

“But how could she have…done it with a _Wraith?_ ” Anakin still couldn’t believe it. “She - she wouldn’t do such a thing, she wouldn’t _betray_ you guys!” 

“The circumstances of your birth remain shrouded in mystery,” Windu said, interrupting Anakin’s thoughts before he could spiral too deep. “As are the circumstances surrounding Shmi Lars’ death. We may never find out the truth. But you will have to make peace with that yourself, Skywalker.” 

“Unwise to make assumptions of the dead without prior evidence, it is,” Yoda agreed, casting a stern look around the room. The hint was clear enough.

“Masters, I think I knew how she died,” Anakin said suddenly, only just connecting the dots. “I think Darth Sidious was the one who murdered her.” He turned to look at the Council members. “Before I killed him, Darth Sidious told me he knew me. But he had never met me before. I think he thought he knew me because he sensed my Force signature was very similar to my mother’s. And he’d encountered my mother’s Force signature before, because he was the one that killed her. That’s why he mistook me for her in his last moments.” Another intrusive thought niggled at his brain, and Anakin’s heart raced. On the off-chance that he was wrong, there was another theory that accommodated Sidious’ odd last words, but _oh fuck_ Anakin very much disliked the latter hypothesis. 

Maybe Sidious had said it because Anakin’s Force signature was familiar to him - not because it contained part of Shmi Skywalker’s Force signature, but maybe because _Sidious_ was the other Wraith parent. 

Anakin very quickly pushed this thought out of his mind. 

He was suddenly very _tired._ There had been too many new revelations today, and he was not sure how much more he could take. Anakin didn’t like the possibilities surrounding his birth and Shmi Skywalker’s death, and no matter how much he willed them away he knew that the fact that he had never known so much about his mother would always haunt him. And if he wasn’t even a human, then what was Ahsoka?

“Masters,” Obi-Wan interrupted, moving in to support Anakin’s hunched body, “I would like to request for permission for my mate to leave the Council session. He is exhausted from the flight over. I will stay and continue with the debrief, but he should be allowed to rest.” 

“Dismissed, the both of you are,” Yoda waved a clawed hand. “Reconvene again at a later date, the Council will. Taken care of, all important matters have already been.” 

“Please visit the Healers tomorrow, Obi-Wan,” Windu said, glaring at Obi-Wan, who looked sheepish, and Anakin suspected that Obi-Wan must not have a very good track record at the Healers. “And bring Skywalker as well. Any other important matters will be sent to your comlink for you to read when you are rested.”

“Thank you, Masters,” Obi-Wan bowed, and Anakin copied him quickly before Obi-Wan practically swept him out of the room.

\---

Obi-Wan led Anakin down the corridors to where Anakin presumed must be Obi-Wan’s quarters.

Anakin was too exhausted to work, so Obi-Wan levitated them both to the room. Mercifully, the corridors were empty, all the other Guardians either tending to their own duties or flying around outside, so there was no need for Obi-Wan to stop and engage in small talk. 

Obi-Wan’s quarters were very much reflective of the person that lived in them, and Anakin marveled at how tidy the apartment was. Obi-Wan was a simple man, so the room was decorated sparsely. A small kitchen, with an equally small dining table that could only fit three. A simple black couch, with a holoprojector affixed to the wall made up his living room. There was a thin layer of dust over everything, the room not having been dusted in more than five months, and honestly Anakin couldn’t imagine Obi-Wan doing much in here other than meditate and watch the news. There was only one bedroom, with a joined ‘fresher, and Obi-Wan’s bed looked barely large enough for two people to fit, but Anakin found himself too tired to care at the moment. 

Obi-Wan led him to bed without forcing him to take a shower first, and Anakin thought that he must look very fatigued for Obi-Wan to allow him to forgo the shower.

“So what does this whole thing mean?” Anakin slurred, tiredly gesturing at the space between them. Obi-Wan had tucked him in first before joining him in bed, much to Anakin’s satisfaction.

Obi-Wan raised an eyebrow. _"Thing?"_

“I mean like. Between you and me.” Anakin blushed. “Where do we go from here? What does it mean?”

“Well,” Obi-Wan said, pausing thoughtfully before leaning in to press a chaste kiss to his cheek. “It means you’ll live as long as I do. It means you’ll stay here with me and join me on missions, and learn to fly and fight alongside me. It means I’ll never be too far away from you, and no matter what happens you’ll always find me right at your side. It means we have centuries and centuries laid out in front of us, for us to see the galaxy, and we’ll be together for every single one of them.” 

Anakin liked that. 

“I love you,” he murmured, kissing Obi-Wan back, and Obi-Wan yielded under his soft touch.

“Forever,” Obi-Wan whispered back, and this time Anakin knew that this promise was one they would both keep.


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's finally done!  
> Thank you everybody for sticking with me so far :-) I've tried my best and sorry if the ending didn't really flow well, I suck at writing endings. If you have any feedback for me please do comment! <3

When Obi-Wan heard a very familiar, loud crash coming from the outside of his apartment window for the third time that day, he decided enough was enough. 

He poked his head out of the window, looking for his mate. Anakin wasn’t difficult to spot during flight training - if he was currently airborne, he was usually the one with the most convoluted flight pattern; or if he wasn’t in the air, he must be the pair of legs sticking up, perpendicular to the ground in the middle of a shrub, the rest of his body hidden by layers of leaves and twigs. 

Today, it was the latter. Obi-Wan very quickly found his mate lying in that same position in a field of cacti - he winced - and he could already hear Anakin’s not-so-quiet cursing that usually accompanied his crashes, as well as the loud peals of laughter from Adi Gallia, his temporary flying coach. Usually Obi-Wan would be the one teaching Anakin how to fly, or how to control his other Guardian abilities, but today he had a report to finish for the Council - so Adi had very kindly agreed to take on Skywalker for an afternoon of flight training. 

“Your _posture,_ Anakin!” Adi laughed as she helped him up, gently untangling him from the _very_ prickly cacti. Several round cacti stumps continued to stick to Anakin’s clothes, and Obi-Wan couldn’t hide the smile that broke out on his face as he watched the two began the pull-the-cactus-as-hard-as-you-can game for the third time that day. He laughed especially hard when he heard Anakin scream in a very unmanly manner as Adi removed one of the cacti that had been stuck on his back. “Remember what we talked about! Back straight, streamlined position. I lost you somewhere after the third lap.” 

“I’m supposed to have good posture _and_ concentrate on using the Force to lift my body up at the same time?” Anakin groaned. 

Adi smiled sympathetically, waving away a small group of giggling younglings who, like Obi-Wan, had also found Anakin’s flight training amusing. “It does seem hard to juggle both these tasks at once, Anakin. But you are already improving tremendously, and with practice you will be a great flier one day.” She bent down to murmur something in Anakin’s ear, too soft for Obi-Wan to hear, but whatever she was saying made a wide smile curl around Anakin’s lips. 

Anakin and Adi’s easy banter eased Obi-Wan’s worries. Ever since Yoda had revealed that Anakin had Wraith blood within him, there was always the concern niggling at the back of his mind that the other Guardians would not accept Anakin’s dual bloodline. And certainly there were a few Guardians who always regarded Anakin with wary looks from a distance, and pulled their younglings away whenever they saw Anakin walking with Obi-Wan toward them. Obi-Wan usually glared at them and hoped Anakin would not notice. Thank goodness the narrow-minded were few, and most of the Guardians had welcomed Anakin with open arms into the faction, especially after how word had spread that Anakin had been the one to kill Darth Sidious. 

It had been difficult at first to get Anakin to make friends with the others, but one by one the Guardians opened up. Anakin’s skill as an engineer garnered him great respect, and often Obi-Wan found him in the hangar making friends with the other mechanically-inclined Guardians.

The members of the Council led by example, and Obi-Wan was very proud to be part of the Guardian leadership. Luminara had been the very first to initiate by inviting Obi-Wan and Anakin to join her for lunch in the cafeteria, where Anakin was introduced to sabacc (he proved quickly to be very good at it, and Obi-Wan had been devastated when he lost five times in a row). Yoda and Plo started private meditation sessions, teaching Anakin how to interact with the Light Side of the Force through meditation. Ki-Adi-Mundi had offered to spar with him, and Kit Fisto had taught him how to swim. (Obi-Wan was secretly confused how Anakin, having lived on a planet that had so many oceans, had never learned how to swim.)

Obi-Wan had been the most nervous when bringing Anakin to meet Qui-Gon for the first time. Qui-Gon had raised him since he was an infant and at this point was practically his _father._ Even though Obi-Wan knew that he would still choose Anakin with or without Qui-Gon’s approval, he had still desperately hoped that Qui-Gon liked Anakin. 

He should have expected the both of them to hit it off immediately. Anakin hated doing anything by the book and there was a reason everybody had dubbed Qui-Gon a maverick, and Obi-Wan was a little bit frightened at how the both of them had already started devising ways of pranking several Council members. 

To be honest, Obi-Wan was just thankful that neither Anakin nor Qui-Gon had found out yet that they both loved trying their luck against the odds. He wasn’t sure if he was ready to walk in one day on them both playing strip sabacc. 

His new domestic life with Anakin had been the best change of all. His apartment had been terribly drab before he’d left for Earth, but with Anakin around he was always tripping on droid parts or disassembled datapads or some other mechanical parts from his new designation as a mechanic for the Guardians. Sometimes his kitchen table was covered in grease from when Anakin had decided to monopolize it for his tinkering - “That’s where we _eat,_ Anakin!” - but Obi-Wan loved it. Maybe the old Obi-Wan would have baulked, but the new Obi-Wan simply thought it gave the apartment more personality.

Now that Palpatine was dead, it was a new era for the Guardians. There would be no more need to find a new sanctuary, the Council had decided. Rumors had passed along the Outer Rim that the Wraiths had finally retreated into Wild Space to regroup, and while Obi-Wan was sure they would return for revenge one day, this certainly served as a much-needed breather for the Guardians, who had been fighting non-stop for thousands and thousands of centuries and suffered unimaginable losses. Now they could finally focus on rebuilding the population, and their home. 

A scrunched-up paper ball hit his eye, and Obi-Wan blinked. He had been so lost in his daydreaming, he hadn’t noticed Anakin and Adi staring up at him, snickering to each other as they tried to get his attention. 

“So uncivilized,” he called out, rolling his eyes. 

“Up for a game of catch, Master Kenobi?” Adi was already levitating in the air. 

“Loser has to sing outside Master Windu’s door at 0300 in the morning,” Obi-Wan smiled.

“Wait, wait, I’m not ready!” Anakin shrieked, still trying to get the cacti off him, but Obi-Wan had already leapt out of the window and was currently rushing full-speed toward the two Guardians. 

“Fly, Skywalker, fly!” Adi laughed, grabbing Anakin’s hand and pulling him into the air. Obi-Wan held back for a few seconds, smiling serenely to himself as he allowed himself to treasure the marvelous Coruscant sunset, as well as the feeling of just playing around with his fellow Guardians, without the constant weight of the war on their shoulders. 

Who would have thought they’d end up like this, when he’d crashed into that muddy planet nearly half a revolution ago?

This was peace at last. Whatever the two Wraith Alphas would do, they certainly could never pose as great a threat as Sidious ever could. And while Obi-Wan knew it wasn’t wise for them to let down their guard, they could certainly allow themselves to enjoy the interim moments. 

He counted down a five-second headstart, and then sprung after Anakin.

\---

“It’s a little weird,” Obi-Wan had admitted to Anakin later that night.

Anakin had just finished being chased down the hallway by Master Windu for practically screaming Jingle Bells at the top of his lungs outside his door - the Grand Alpha had merely conjured up a bucket of mud and upended it on him when he’d tried to bolt, leaving Anakin mucky and shivering at three in the morning. Adi had secretly caught the whole thing on camera for posterity, and had promised to send the recording to Obi-Wan in the morning. 

Anakin looked up from where he’d been scrubbing himself down in the bathtub. “What is?”

“This,” Obi-Wan gestured to the space between them, as he ran his fingers through Anakin’s hair to make sure all the muddy bits had been shampooed out.

“Ah.” Anakin smiled knowingly. Obi-Wan felt a familiar wave of affection through their bond. 

“I would never have known that being struck down by Maul could have ever led to such a desirable outcome,” he mused. “Maybe I should let him strike me down more.” 

Anakin frowned, curling his clean arms around Obi-Wan possessively. “And have you crash-land on another planet and fall in love with another secret Guardian? I think not.” 

“Oh, dear one. You know that wasn’t what I meant.” Satisfied that his hair was clean of mud, Obi-Wan pressed a kiss to Anakin’s crown. 

“But I have to agree,” Anakin smirked back. “This was indeed a _very desirable_ outcome.”

Obi-Wan thought about how long the Guardian-Wraith war had dragged on, and how many generations of Guardians had suffered and perished in the war. He thought about how he had never known his own parents, who were long dead before he’d even learned how to talk. He thought of how when he had been a youngling, the creche master had indoctrinated them with war terms, and survival tactics, and how most of his generation’s childhood had been sacrificed for the war effort.

He thought of how Anakin’s brave actions with Sidious not too long ago had prevented all this from happening to future generations of Guardians, and how he’d nearly singlehandedly brought peace after thousands and thousands of years of conflict. And overall, he was very thankful for how it had all turned out, to be honest. 

Obi-Wan’s eyes were surprisingly wet when he’d managed to blink himself out of his thoughts. 

“I love you,” he murmured, barely a whisper.

His mate smiled, leaning over to kiss him, and Obi-Wan couldn’t even bring himself to be mad about the fact that Anakin was dripping water onto his very clean clothes. “I love you, too.” 

Their future together was bright: Obi-Wan could feel it in the Force. Whatever the future could ever bring - they could handle it, as long as they stayed _together._

Obi-Wan was certain of it.

**Author's Note:**

> Any constructive feedback regarding my writing is appreciated, thank you very much :) I'm just getting back into the process of writing again and am a little rusty.  
> Thank you all for reading! :)


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